Greg Fletcher. SILVERTHORNE PuBLICATIONS

Transcription

1 Greg Fletcher Take Down Craps! SILVERTHORNE PuBLICATIONS

2 Take Down Craps! COPYRIGHT 2015 Silverthorne Publications, Inc. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Without limiting the rights under the copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the publisher of this book, except for inclusion of brief quotations in a review. Silverthorne Publications, Inc J Wyoming NE, Suite 305 Albuquerque, New Mexico USA Created in the United States of America. The material contained in this book is intended to inform and educate the reader and in no way represents an inducement to gamble legally or illegally. 2

3 Table of Contents Chapter Page Introduction 4 About Craps 39 Why Play Craps? 44 The Game 49 The Casino Craps Layout 64 The Dice 67 The Bets 77 The Casino's Point of View 110 The Player's Edge 118 Betting Strategies 121 Betting Progressions 131 Core Craps Bets 142 The Power of Placing the Six and Eight 153 The Take Down Betting System 164 Sample Games Using the Take Down System 171 How the System Performs Over the Long-term 184 Your Bankroll 192 Skilful Play 197 Discipline and Control 205 Casino Comps 216 Online Gambling 227 Casino Etiquette 234 Keeping Records 238 Planning a Gambling Excursion 242 Summary of Take Down Craps 246 Going Home a Winner 250 Player Cards 253 3

4 Introduction Besides Taking Down Craps I make money as a full time commodities and futures trader. Since I usually wrap up my work by 2:00 PM I have time to explore other ways to make money. Like discovering how to take down the craps game! Two years ago I hardly ever played craps. I had tried the game a few times and thought it was a pretty crazy way to blow a lot of money in the noisiest way possible! Then I was challenged by an old craps player to find a way to beat the game. I took him up on his challenge and thirteen months later I am pleased to report that we have just finishing testing and certifying Take Down Craps The Ultimate Casino Winning System! Here Are the Core Concepts Behind Take Down Craps Unique Ability to Overwhelm Every Version of Craps Offered Today First, we only make Take Down Bets which give us an edge over the house with every roll of the dice! Then we time placing the bets using a Special Bet Timer that is the most accurate bet trigger ever created for craps! 4

5 On top of this we use a Profit Lock Up Technique (the casinos really hate this) that allows us to keep on winning bet after bet without fear of losing! The result of making Take Down Bets using the most Accurate Bet Timing System ever devised and then locking up wins as we continue to win is the World s Most Powerful Craps System! We Just Completed a Seven-Month Long Extensive Test of Take Down Craps and Here Is What We Found Take Down Craps consistently overwhelms the game of craps. It doesn t matter what the dice are doing or who the shooter is Take Down Craps always sets up Special Winning Bets that are favored to win and then just rolls up the game of craps! Take Down Craps crushes craps games in land-based casinos. It doesn t matter whether we are playing in a sawdust joint with $2 minimum bets or playing in a Las Vegas Strip Palace with $100 minimum bets Take Down Craps wins! Take Down Craps is the hottest system we have ever tested for winning online. Online Craps games are east prey for our Take Down system which easily beats all versions of online craps games! Take Down Craps has been proven by real players playing in real casinos. It is not another theoretical system, but a system used by real players to bring in millions of dollars in real profits! 5

6 Take Down Craps Blows Away the Casinos Using a Small Bankroll! Craps is known as a bankroll eater as it easily sucks players into losing huge amounts of money. I have seen players pull out hundreds of dollars every five or ten minutes just trying to catch up at a craps game. With Take Down Craps just the opposite is true. You can start with a small amount of money and quickly build this into a monster bankroll as the system piles up win after win and then locks up the winnings so that you can t lose them back! Most Craps Players Look for Hot Rolls or Cold Rolls to Win Take Down Craps plays by its own rules. Hot tables aren t needed. Cold tables don t matter. It doesn t depend on who shoots the dice (that s why it is so effective online where there is no real shooter). Take Down Craps uses its own unique timing triggers to set up winning bets. Once you learn this strategy you will find yourself ignoring all of the other nonsense that goes on in the craps game. While typical craps players are dumping hundreds of dollars and complaining about the shooters, you will be using special Take Down Bets to rake in win after win while others are pulling out their hair and cursing the dice! 6

7 Here Are Just a Few of the Ways That You ll Profit Using Take Down Craps! You could use set up the ultimate home-based business as an online craps player. We ll tell you exactly where we play and win. If you would like to win from $3,000 to $5,000 a day working from home this is the fastest way known to bring in the high dollars! You could become a craps pro, playing and winning wherever craps is offered. If you would like to travel and win this is the choice for you! Several of our players have done this and easily win over $20,000 a week as craps pros! You can get started with as little as $50 and quickly move up to winning from $10,000 to $25,000 a week! You ll do this no matter where you play! $50 Is All It Takes To Set Up Your Own Casino Beating Money Machine! Most investment opportunities are rigged so that only those who are already rich have a chance of succeeding. For example, if you want to make any real money as a professional stock or commodities trader you should have at least $100,000 to start! Want to own your own business? The price starts at $50,000 and then heads towards the sky. Some franchises cost over $500,000! 7

8 Need I say more? If you have money there are lots of ways to make even more. And, if you don t? You were just sort of left out until now! Take Down Craps Offers the Chance to Join the Ranks of the One Percent Who Make More Than $20,000 a Week! Many lottery payouts are made in weekly or monthly payments. Most are a lot less than $20,000 a week. Here s a chance to win the lottery with 100% Odds in Your Favor to Win! All you have to do is become a Take Down Craps Specialist. Once you do You can make as much or even more than a highly paid MD like a cardiologist or anesthesiologist. Or, as much money as an owner of a successful McDonald s franchise. Or, as much as an oil company executive! Here s a 100% Proven Way to Join the Ranks of the Truly Wealthy without spending tens of thousands of dollars and years working your way up. You don t have to win the lottery. Or, go into debt going to medical school. 8

9 All you have to do is learn the Amazing Take Down Craps Strategy! And, that s where we come in. We are going to show you exactly how to Take Down the Game of Craps! An Old Craps Shooter Dared Me to Come Up with a Consistent Way to Win at Craps! I am pretty good at trading commodity futures and sometimes stocks. It is all about timing and knowing the right timing trigger. And, it is critical to know not only how to control losses but how to keep from giving back profits from profitable trades. About a year ago I accepted an invitation to talk to a local investment club about trading. I don t normally like to do these kinds of things but I owed a friend a favor and before I knew it I had agreed to give this talk on How to Profit with Low Risk Trades. I gave my talk and answered a lot of questions before I stepped down. I went out in the hallway to get a breathe of fresh air when an older fellow who had attended my talk approached me. He introduced himself as a retired investor and asked for a couple minutes of my time. I figured he was going to try to sell me something and I had just told him that I had to go when he hit me with You know you can make a lot of money a lot faster if you apply the same techniques to playing craps. 9

10 He told me that he played craps as a hobby and that he played almost weekly He had had some success playing with a limited number of bets which he called the prime bets. I was intrigued. I had just gotten back form a casino visit where I played craps with a couple of friends and managed to almost break even after playing two or three hours. Knowing how treacherous the game was I figured I had done all right, but I had started thinking about how I could apply some of my successful trading techniques to beating the game of craps. Now, an avid craps player had approached me with a similar idea and basically asked me if I could help him in his attempt to tame the game. I suggested that we meet in the local casino next week so that I could observe his system in action. Stan Demonstrates His Craps System in the Ameristar East Chicago We met at the Double Down Diner at the Ameristar East Chicago at 4:40 on Wednesday afternoon. I had only played here once before but it was Stan s favorite place to play craps and I was here to watch and learn. We ordered coffee and he explained his craps system. I intended to not only observe but to play the system myself. He explained his system and I made a few notes. It seemed easy enough. We started playing, buying in for $500 each. I watched him make his Prime Bets and after seeing a couple rounds of bets I moved over to a different craps table 10

11 which had just opened up. I figured we would get a better test if we played on different tables. We played for a couple of hours and then I walked over to his table and suggested we take a break at Bugatti s Steak and Pasta. It has a pretty good reputation and we had agreed in advance that win or lose we would try the steakhouse. We compared notes We had each bought in for $500 and made the same size bets. He may have gotten in a little more play than I did as I had to spend some time just watching him before I started playing. Stan had won $478 which was pretty impressive. However, I had won $786. Beginner s luck? I didn t think so. I explained to Stan how I had modified his betting strategy slightly. While Stan tended to leave his bets up for three or more hits I reduced the size of my bets after one win and then took them down after two hits. He was getting more action but my profits were higher. While this certainly wasn t a definitive test, Stan and I agreed that we needed to test which approach worked better. 11

12 Testing and Perfecting When to Take Down the Bets! We decided to test different bet Take Down Models. Stan had all of the time in the world and preferred to play at the Ameristar. My time was limited so that I confined my testing to online play which is faster and definitely more convenient. After three weeks of testing different variations we came to a decision on how to take down the bets. It turned out the best approach seemed to be a compromise between our two approaches Sometimes it made sense to leave the bets up a little longer and other times they needed to be pulled almost as soon as we had a win. We agreed on what seemed to be the best Take Down Technique and decided to revisit the Ameristar. Ameristar East Chicago Round Two We decided to start our play at the same level as the first time we had played. Stan played on one table and I played on another. We had agreed on how to take down our bets after wins with a little discretion allowed to make adjustments on the fly. After about an hour and a half of play, we took a break. 12

13 Stan had won $1,375. I had won $1,289. There was no doubt that our adjustments on how we handled the bets after wins had improved our winnings. However, I was still concerned about the timing of when we made our bets. Stan had worked out a bet timing system that depended on the number of dice rolls. I had my doubts about his approach and I thought it could be improved. One thing I had learned in over twenty years trading is that any system can be improved and I wanted to try some variations to his approach. Before we started playing I had done some testing online and I was convinced I had come up with a better way to determine when to place the Take Down Bets. We played another hour. Stan won another $490 and I won $593. Too close to call! On the way home I decided that we needed a different approach to resolve this problem. Lonnie the Computer Programmer Came Up with A Different Way to Time Making the Bets! I met with Lonnie D., a really good computer programmer, who had a lot of experience in developing and testing trading models. Lonnie was a little surprised when I told him that I was interested in a way to time making craps bets but once I laid it all out he quickly grasped how to solve the problem. 13

14 Lonnie found a craps simulation program that he could use to test different timing triggers for setting up bets. Stan and I put our heads together and gave Lonnie a list of timing triggers to test. Lonnie agreed to determine the optimal time to place our Take Down Bets using 100,000 dice decisions and then comparing results of placing our Take Down Bets based on: Hot Shooters Cold Shooters The appearance of sevens The time between sevens The number of rolls a shooter made The shooter making his point Betting on new shooters Qualifying Shooters before betting Qualifying the table before betting Testing Our Special Bet Timing Techniques Lonnie ran the simulations and got back to me the following week. Once I reviewed his work it became obvious that all of the old craps players systems for timing bets couldn t come close to the system we had worked out. Even Lonnie was impressed. It looks like you ve got the perfect timing system here! And I agreed We now had the Perfect Timing System for placing Take Down Bets! 14

15 Stan and I Put It All Together the Next Saturday at the Ameristar! Stan and I met several times during the week. We agreed on how to adjust the Take Down Bets after both wins and losses! And, we mastered the new Perfect Timing System (PTS Trigger) the best bet timing signal! Now we were anxious to try it in Stan s favorite casino! We met at the Ameristar at 10:30 in the morning. It was kind of early for most craps players and just one table was open with only a couple of players. We had thought of this in advance and since our system was totally independent of shooters, counting rolls, and all of the other old school craps timing systems we had agreed that we could play and win even if there were no other shooters at the table. We bought in for $2,500 each. Two hours later we took a short break to compare notes. Stan had won $3,609. I was up $3,478. By then a second table was open and I moved to the other table. I bought in for $5,000 for this playing session and Stan did the same. The system was performing flawlessly. Sometimes I would get a signal to place the Take Down bets as soon as the shooter got the dice. At other times it would take a few rolls. 15

16 A number of times I would get no PTS Trigger. Invariably these shooters would seven out and I saved my money by not betting. Once the Take Down Bets were in place I would wait for a win. After the win I would reduce the size of the bets following the take down bet procedure. Time after time I would pull in wins and then lock them up using the special take down techniques. I don t want to give the impression that these bets always won. Sometimes they didn t. When they lost, all I would do is wait for a new PFS Trigger and then set up Recoupement Bets. Time after time the system would quickly recoup any losses and then set up new rounds of wins and then lock those wins up while I continued to keep the bets in place. We finally stopped playing about 6:00. We had a steak dinner bet on who would win the most. I had won $11,673. I was fairly confident that I had beaten Stan. Stan won $12,891. As we walked to the restaurant I asked him What would you like to drink while we wait for our steaks? Online Play Wins $180 Every Fifteen Minutes! I wanted to see how well I could do online using the perfected Take Down Craps Strategy! I was busy trading the next two days but after closing out a trade with a large profit I decided to see how well I could do online taking down craps. I signed onto my favorite online casino and played about thirty minutes in free practice mode. The system performed flawlessly! 16

17 After my practice session I played for real. I had decided to make $10 my base bet and to see just how well I could do if I played at this level a few hours. I played that afternoon as well as the following afternoon. I kept track of all of my play so that I could analyze it later. Here s how I did 17

18 Five Hours of Online Play Game Dice Rolls Time Played Online (300 Rolls per hour) Amount W/L - $10 Betting min min min min min min min min min min min min min min min min min min +156 Total 284 Minutes Making $10 bets I won $3,404 in a little less than five hours. I won an average of $11.99 a minute. This is very strong for ten-dollar betting! 18

19 You will notice that I won 17 out of 18 games. This is typical performance for Take Down Craps! You will notice that the loss was really not much more than a bump in the road to higher profits. If you like to think in terms of hourly pay, I won an average of $719 an hour as a ten-dollar bettor! While this is excellent you can do ever better! I didn t have to continue to bet at this level and you won t either. Once you are on a winning streak (which happens every time you play) you can increase the size of your bet as your winnings grow. For example, instead of sticking with $10 bets I could have increased my betting to $25. If I had been making $25 bets I would have won $8,510 in these online sessions! With Take Down Craps you will have total control over your betting. If you like you can just stay at one level of betting like I did. Or, you can shoot for the moon like I did three weeks later in Las Vegas. Taking Down Las Vegas! After my successes playing at the Ameristar as well as playing online I started thinking about seeing how Take Down Craps would perform in the granddaddy of all gambling Meccas Las Vegas. 19

20 As luck would have it I had already planned to attend a three-day seminar in Las Vegas on trading oil derivatives and I changed my schedule so that I arrived a couple of days before the seminar started. Before I left I called Martin Silverthorne to see if he would meet with me in Las Vegas. Martin lives in Las Vegas and is considered the premier developer of top-rated gambling systems. I wanted to see what he thought about Take Down Craps. I flew in on a Tuesday and arrived in Las Vegas late afternoon. After checking in to the Aria Resort Casino I called Martin. He picked me up about 5:00 cocktail time as he called it. We drove out to his home in Summerlin and I meet his lovely wife Diane. She had the margaritas ready by the time we arrived and we sat out on the poolside patio. He brought me up to date. He had just finished validating a new blackjack system and he showed a strong interest in hearing about my craps system. Martin cooked steaks on the grill and we were joined by George Stern, who Martin introduced as Mr. Craps. George has had more experience playing craps than anyone I know. He also has a sense about craps systems that has kept me out of trouble more than once. George sort of growled when he met and indicated that he was pretty skeptical about any new ways to play craps. Martin nodded in his direction. George has just about seen all of the craps systems ever devised. However, even George may learn something new from your system. Tell him about it. 20

21 I explained the system to George. The man must have a photographic memory. Within ten minutes he seemed to grasp the complete system right down to bet adjustments made in taking down bets. He especially liked the Bet Timing system and by the time we finished dinner George was talking about meeting me in the morning to try out the system. I ve got just the place for you to launch this new system Benny Binion s old joint downtown. George had actually known Benny Binion, former racketeer turned casino owner and one of the most colorful characters in Las Vegas s checkered past. As long as that s all right with you, George added, although I don t think he thought for a moment that he needed my approval. We finished the evening early. Martin and Diane were going some place early in the morning and I had an appointment with Binion s. Wednesday Morning at the Golden Nugget. Before we started playing I wanted to try breakfast at the Golden Nugget. I hadn t yet been to the Claim Jumper and it seemed like a good place to start the day with a hearty breakfast. George liked the idea and he already had a table by the time I arrived. After I sat down and got a cup of coffee, George suggested, Try the Eggs Benedict. They re pretty good here. 21

22 I took his advice and really enjoyed the breakfast. George had toast and coffee and talked nonstop about how Vegas was in the 1980s when Lefty Rosenthal ran the Stardust and Tony the Ant Spilotro was still burying people in the dessert. After breakfast as we were walking through the Golden Nugget s casino to Binion s George spotted an old friend who was now a blackjack pit boss at the Nugget. I waited until they finished talking and then George suggested that we start our play in the Nugget instead of across the street. I gotta a good feeling about playin here. I started out making $25 bets. The strategy was working really well. I would wait for the PTS Bet Trigger then set up the Take Down Bets Usually the bets would win and I would start the bet adjustment technique locking up my winnings as I went. Occasionally the bets would lose and I would wait for a new signal and set up Recoupment Bets. While my bet would change as I follow the strategy my winnings continued to grow. George was playing at a different table and I walked over there once or twice just to see how we was doing. George was talking nonstop with the nearest dealer and was making $100 bets. I noticed that his chip rails were filled with $500 and $100 chips. He was obviously having a good day. I worked my way up to $50 bets near the end of the morning session. A little before noon George joined me and asked if I was ready for lunch. I colored up, cashed in and asked where we were going. We re going to walk a couple of blocks to a joint next to the mob museum. I told him that sounded a little sinister. 22

23 He laughed. Nah, it s tame and is sort of a San Francisco style place. You like seafood? I told him I did. We left the Fremont Street Experience and walked a couple of blocks to the new Downtown Grand Casino. We walked into the Triple George Grill, got a table and compared notes. I had won $2,309 that morning at the Golden Nugget. George had pulled in a $7,978 win. Of course his betting was higher than mine. While I started out making $25 bets and just moved up to $50 betting before we took a break, George has started out as a $100 bettor and was making $200 bets before we quit. We Hit Binion s Hard That Afternoon One thing I learned talking to George is that he is very superstitious. He had had a bad experience playing at the Golden Nugget in the afternoon years ago and refused to play there in the afternoon since. However, as he explained when we walked back toward Fremont Street where Binion s was located, Binion s old joint was always lucky for him. We walked into the casino and I noticed right away that the craps tables were much more active than the Nugget s had been. George explained. This has always been a craps joint. In the old days they would accept any level bet. As Benny used to explain, Your bet limit is whatever you re willing to risk on your first bet. 23

24 George went on to tell me how one bettor had showed up with a suitcase with close to $700,000 in it, made one bet on the don t pass and won. The casino paid him off in cash and he disappeared. Can you still do that? I asked. He looked at me and said, You kidding. Now days they gotta report everything to the feds and there is no way they could accept that bet. He sighed and grinned. Let s go take down these bums. As we had in the morning we played at separate tables. George knew the boxman at another table and they rehashed the Super Bowl while I quietly pursued profits at the next craps table. We played until a little after 5:00. George appeared at my shoulder. You know one thing I like about your system? What s that? I said, keeping my eyes on the table as the dealer was paying off a bet. I like that the way the system wraps up winning so nicely. It s much tidier than other systems. Well I guess tidy systems make for nice breaks, huh George? He smiled back. Let s cash in and head for a quick drink. We ve got dinner reservations at the best steakhouse in Vegas. We walked over to the Four Queens for drinks and compared notes again. The afternoon had been even more profitable than the morning. I had started out making $50 bets and gradually moved up to $75 betting. This approach had paid off handsomely as I won $4,789 playing at Binion s. 24

25 George was in his own world as usual. He was visiting with the bartender who used to work at the Dunes and they were talking about people they knew thirty years ago. George did take time to bring me up to date. He had won $11,489 that afternoon. He was especially delighted as he told me that he had played on one of the coldest tables he had ever seen. At one time there were three players playing from the dark side. You almost never see that. I was almost tempted to join them. But, you didn t did you? Hell no. Cold tables don t much phase your system. I just kept on winning at the same time those don t players were winning. Everyone else was pretty well wiped out. A few minutes late he glanced at his watch. It s time to ride the glass elevator. We walked back across Fremont Street, reentered Binion s and found the glass elevator. I you like good steaks you re going to love this place. While the ride up in the glass elevator offered great views, the views from the Top of Binion s were even better. We got a table when we could look out over the Strip and I had one of the best steaks ever. George paid for everything and I could see why he thrived in Las Vegas. As usual he knew a couple of people and he was now introducing me as the man who showed him how to take down craps. For all of his bluster George was really a lot of fun and I was disappointed when he told me that he couldn t join me the next day. However, you re still stuck with me tonight. Let s go downstairs and do some more damage. 25

26 An Evening at Binion s The craps tables were packed when we got back downstairs. However, I found a place at one table and George visited with someone he knew until a spot opened up. He winked at me from across the room. At this point I was a little nervous. After a day of winning I should have been more confident than ever but I couldn t help but think, What if the system failed? For that reason I reverted to making $10 bets for the first fifteen minutes of play. I took a quick break came back to the table and then starting making $100 bets. I stayed at this level all evening. I finally decided to call it a night and I cashed in. I told George I was going back to the lounge at the Golden Nugget. He nodded and I couldn t help but notice that he had a almost a whole tray of $500 chips. I cashed in my chips and reviewed the results of my first day of play. In the morning at the Golden Nugget I had won $2,309. In the afternoon at Binion s I won another $4,789. And tonight I had capped it off with a solid $5,899 win. I had won $12,997 for the day! I sipped on my scotch and water and waited for George. It was enjoyable just watching the casino patrons at the Nugget. Before too long George showed up. I asked him how he did and he sort of scowled. I thought for a moment he might have lost then he patted my on the shoulder and said, Just kidding. I won another $43,441. I asked him how he had done for the day and he thought for a moment and then said, Up $83,000. That s a new record for me. 26

27 We talked for a few minutes then it was time to go. As we walked out George said, You ought to call Martin. I think he wants to join you tomorrow. Martin and I Take On Caesars Palace! Martin and I met at the Starbucks in the Forum Food Court the next morning. He wanted to hear all about my previous day s play. George had left him a cryptic message, We took down Binion s and I filled Martin in on the details. Martin suggested we walk into the Caesars Palace casino and try the system. He told me he had practiced a little the night before at his home craps table and he was confident he had the system down. However, he wanted to play at the same table with me at first just to make sure he had all of the techniques down. We each started out making $100 bets. While I felt like I was pushing my personal betting limit, Martin acted like this was his normal betting level. We played about fifteen minutes at a very choppy table. Naturally the Take Down System was consistently pulling in wins and Martin said, I think I am ready to go on my own. I am going to go over to the high rollers area. I stayed where I was as there was plenty of action at this table. If possible the craps players here seemed even more hardcore than the Binion s players. They were certainly playing at a higher level as there were several hundred-dollar bettors at my table. About midmorning I decided to try making $200 bets. I had made small cards for each level of betting and all I really had to do was refer to the card for $200 betting and get used to making higher bets. 27

28 It was almost noon when Martin showed up. He looked at my chips and gave me a thumbs up. No hurry, but if you would like to visit the best English Pub in Las Vegas next, we need to get going. I cashed in picking up my biggest win yet - $8,458 that morning. We walked over to the Gordon Ramsay Pub & Grill near the Coliseum at the Forum Shops entrance. It has the most striking bar I have ever seen with a huge array of beer taps reminiscent of British telephone booths. We sat down and I noticed that the restaurant featured many of the same dishes as a real English pub including onion soup, shepherd s pie, selection of sausages and classic fish and chips. Martin ordered one of the local dark beers while I ordered a lager. He opted for a shepherd s pie while I ordered traditional fish and chips. We compared notes. Martin had a couple of suggestions for improving the profits during the lockup period after we had won a bet when we were in the profit lockup phase. Other than that he had nothing but praise for the system. I am really impressed with your bet timing system. You have really made a major improvement in bet timing that really turns the tables on craps! Coming from Martin, who probably knows more gambling systems than anyone else on the planet, this was a tremendous compliment! 28

29 We Take Down Caesars Palace! After lunch Martin suggested that we both play on higher bet limit tables. He also talked me into $500 betting. For some reason this bothered me. Even though my trades are hundreds of times the size of my gambling bankroll there was something intimidating about making bets of $500 or more. Martin reassured me. Just think of them as $5 bets. There is really no difference except the size of the bets. I am not sure that helped. Nonetheless, I started making $500 bets. After about fifteen minutes I decided that Martin was right. The hardest thing was getting over the idea of risking $500 per bet. Once I got into the rhythm of the system it was just like making $5 bets. The table we were on was never full and the game went pretty fast. This was to our benefit as we got in more bets per hour and therefore won more per hour. The high rollers at the table didn t act or bet much differently than a group of $5 bettors. There were just as many hardway and one-roll bets (lousy bets) made by this group as were made by the low rollers. Fortunately, the level of the game didn t make any difference to the efficiency of Take Down Craps. I just followed the same procedure I waited for a timing signal, Then I set up the Take Down Bets. I waited for a win, 29

30 Then I either reduced the size of the bets or took them down depending on where I was in the cycle. My tray quickly filled with $500 chips. Then the dealer started coloring me up to $1,000 chips and the tray continued to fill. Martin was at the other end of the table fighting his own battle and filling his chip trays just like I was. About 3:00 we took a break and walked to a lounge. Neither one of us commented on our winnings at this point. Martin seemed as cool as a cucumber. I was still a little nervous over playing at this level. After finishing our drinks Martin said, Shall we go finish this up? We played about another hour and a half. I looked up and saw that Martin was coloring up. That seemed like a good idea to me. We both cashed in and at Martin s suggestion I had the casino cut me a check for part of my winnings. I don t feel safe walking around with this much cash and you shouldn t either, he cautioned. We drove back to Martin s house. As we drove I updated my record of the trip. I won $12,997 yesterday and $35,348 today. That totals $48,345. That s a new record for me. Martin looked over. I think that you are going to set quite a few new records with this system! 30

31 That Night at Martin s We Reach a Decision... Diane met us at the door with two cocktails. She kissed Martin and gave me an air kiss. Now you are on your own. I m meeting some friends. We found a salad and a pair of swordfish steaks out by the grill. We sat down in the shade of the patios with the misters cooling it down enough to be comfortable and relaxed. Martin congratulated me again on the system and asked, What do you do now? I responded, I ve still got my seminar to attend. Maybe I ll play a little more at night. What I meant was what are you going to do with the system? Are you willing to share it? I thought for a minute and said, I can t see why not. I ve released three different trading systems on a limited basis and so long as too many traders don t know about them it won t reduce their effectiveness. He then made me a proposal. He suggested that we release the system to a maximum of 500 people. He described how he would do it. We ll set up a special web site where we can control access. Then we limit the number of Player Kits that can be downloaded. He went on explaining how he could set up the operation. I should mention that Martin has done this with other systems and that if I let anyone market the system, it would have to be Martin. 31

32 As he finished his discussion I asked, Is that all? Well, first we have to test and validate the system. Before I could object that that was what I had been doing he interrupted. Up to this point you have been designing and doing preliminary testing of Take Down Craps. Now we have to give it the real test and see how it holds up. He explained that simulated tests and even several days play were no substitute for having a number of players try the system in real casinos over a period of time and then report how they had done. Sounds like a lot of work. He explained that he had enough seasoned players to set up and monitor the testing. He did ask me to serve as the coordinator and to work with the testers. I agreed and he told me he would contact me again in a week or so. Our Players Take Down Craps Worldwide! Martin and I worked putting together a group of players to test the Take Down Craps Strategy in a variety of locations. In addition to the players who would play in land-based casinos I recruited players for online play from two different investment clubs I had worked with previously. The final group broke down as follows: 32

33 31 players who would play in land-based games. We got good coverage as we had six players in Nevada, three in Missouri, three in Mississippi, two in Indiana, four in Atlantic City, with the rest playing in the Caribbean, South American, England, Germany, Australia, Macau and New Zealand. 16 players who would play online. We gave the players a list of 25 prequalified online casinos and then let them choose where to play. Part of this test was to further qualify the casinos as well as testing the system and we wanted to get lots of feedback from the players on how they were treated by the online casinos. Each player received a Players Kit which not only showed them how to play the system but contained complete instructions on how they were to track and record their play. Two days after we finished instructing the players the results starting coming in Paul J. sent in the first report. He was playing in several casinos in North Las Vegas. Lots of money is coming in. This system is a ball. This was followed by an update from Tom B. playing in Tunica, Mississippi. System works great. Even though I am just supposed to test this I am making a lot of money! Then reports from the online players started to hit Jodi D. added these comments to her detailed summary System is fantastic. It is perfect for online craps as I can play very fast and increase the winnings. Am doing well see my report for details. 33

34 Lee C. added this to the results of his first week s play I have now played in three different online casinos. No problem with any of the casinos. Take Down Craps works perfectly. Report follows. Take Down Craps Scores Big Worldwide! I found myself actually rooting for our player as the reports came in. Since they were playing for real money and got to keep everything they won some of them were quite exuberant Oh my God. I can t believe I won $21,000 this week. This is the best thing that ever happened to me. Mike S. playing online. Best craps system I have ever used. I won $9,492 yesterday playing at Hollywood Casino in Tunica. Len H. We ran the test for over seven weeks. All of the information was entered into a database where we summarized and analyzed it all. By the tine the test was finished we had complete documentation on 9,828 games covering 820,872 dice rolls. Our players literally blew the casinos away and beat the craps game soundly wherever they played. Stu G. playing in Brisbane, Australia at the Conrad Treasury Casino said, While craps is not the most popular game here I ve been doing well. Yesterday I played four or five hours and cleared $3,371 Australian. System is very impressive. 34

35 From the very first our players reports were encouraging. By the time we finished our analysis there was no doubt Our Players Took Down Craps Wherever They Played! The Take Down Bets The power behind this strategy starts with the bets themselves. While the Take Down Bets are found on every craps table, no one makes them the way we do. The players who make these bets at all usually do them wrong. First, they set them up on a whim. Then they invariably leave them up too long. They don t know how to size the bets to make them profitable. In short, while these bets are in plain site, most players are clueless on how to turn these bets into powerful Take Down Bets. Let s start with the math When these bets are done right they will give you an edge of 167% over the house. This is a true statement You will be 1.67 times more likely to win than lose on every dice roll! 35

36 As bets alone, these bets will help you overcome the house odds. But, it gets even better... The PTS Bet Trigger Literally Outsmarts the Game of Craps While the Take Down Bets are powerful bets you won t be a net winner if you make these bets on every dice roll. Sometimes these bets will lose just like any other bet on the craps layout. However, we discovered a way to reduce the risk of losing so low that you actually gain an edge over the house making these bets. We use a system for determining exactly when to make these bets and when to take them down. It s called the Perfect Timing Signal and this PTS Bet Trigger is so good that you ll avoid most of the losses that other craps players experience. By targeting the best times to make the Take Down Bets you ll gain an edge over the craps game that most players never get. But, we don t stop there. On top of the Perfect Timing Signal we add the best Profit Lockup Strategy ever created Locking Up Profits On the Run! Nearly every player has winnings. If they didn t no one would ever play craps or any other casino game. 36

37 However, every time a win comes your way you are facing a decision whether you know it or not Do you keep playing? Do you leave your bets in place? Should you increase the size of your bets? Should you take your bets down? If you reduce the size of the bets, what is the right amount? We looked at all of these questions in putting the Take Down Craps Strategy together. We came up with a solution that takes all of the guesswork out of play. It s called the TD Lockup System and here s how it works With the TD Lockup System There Is Never Any Guesswork! Let s say you win a bet. What do you do next? Pull it down? Increase it? Instead of guessing the TD Lockup System tells you exactly what to do. Each time you win you follow a set of procedures that allow you to keep on winning but ensures that you will never give back your profits! 37

38 I have had as many as eleven straight winning bets using this system. With each win I locked up more profits, yet I still had the freedom to keep my winning run going. You re probably wondering what happens when you lose a bet? We ve got that covered too! Depending on the timing of your loss you may go into Recoupment Betting. If you do you ll regain the amount lost in a bet or two. Or, you may not have to do anything. With your profits locked up just wait for a new PTS Bet Trigger and start the whole process all over again! 38

39 About Craps Craps is the most exciting game offered in a casino. It is also the fastest game and one of the best games for winning money. Each throw of the dice offers another chance to win money, and the payoffs are made continuously. Craps has many more tables devoted to it, and more players play craps than any other table game in the United States. However, craps is the high volume money game, especially in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. It is not unusual to find thousands of dollars being wagered on the table at one time, all depending on the outcome of the next roll of the dice. The game is fast and offers the chance of winning huge sums of money in a short time period. The only gambling games offering such high potential payoffs are Keno, some of the slot machines offering large jackpots and lotteries. However, unlike playing lotteries, with craps the player's skill can have a huge bearing on his ability to win. Because of the amount of money which can be won or lost, craps has been the traditional game of big bettors, or whales as casinos call them, for many years. With the advent of wealthy Asian players visiting the United States, baccarat has somewhat overtaken craps as the big money game, but for sheer volume of wagers, nothing compares with craps. If you are looking for a way to beat the game, there are many books written about craps. These books generally fall into two broad categories. Most of the books you will find in bookstores are in category one in which the mechanics of the game are described with a simplistic betting strategy or two and many stories about the author's adventures playing the game. These books are very useful if you want to learn how to play the game, learn about craps etiquette or just be entertained. 39

40 However, you are not likely to learn how to beat the game from these books. The systems used by the authors tend to be very similar and are typically the same old shopworn systems used by craps players for decades. The second category of books is usually offered at higher prices on a limited basis, as through direct mail. These books or pamphlets usually offer one system that is guaranteed to beat the game. If you ever try to return one of these "sure-fire" winners you will usually find that the system seller can't be found. Because craps is a game of chance, where most wagers offer some mathematical advantage to the house, mathematicians say the game can't be beaten. Yet, I know the game can be beaten. Unlike the "bookstore" authors, I will offer you a new, exciting and proven approach to beat the craps game. My approach is not a "sure-fire" winner like some of the mail order systems. However, my experience has shown that it wins much more than it loses. The Automatic Craps approach to playing the game will give you a tested and proven strategy for playing and winning. The paucity of reliable published information on effective betting strategies for these games probably is the result of the blind acceptance of most gambling experts that in the long run no system can ever overcome a game where the casino has an advantage. The crux of this issue is how we define "long term." Any system will fail at some point if it is followed blindly to the bitter end regardless of the cost. However, if we break the "long run" into a series of many short runs, over which we have substantial control, then I believe the premise is false. In a contest between the casino and a player using a really good system, I am convinced that the player can gain a definite edge, especially if the house edge is less than 2 percent. 40

41 Characteristic of all would be reputable books on casino gambling are discussions of the so-called gambler's ruin. These discussions are used as a basis of the assertion that in the long run it is impossible to overcome a negative expectancy, meaning a game where the odds favor the house. A puzzling aspect of all of the analyses I have seen is that any system player will continue to blindly pursue his system until he loses all of his bankroll. It is on this premise that most systems are generally dismissed as being useless. However, the proof that any system is bound to fail is based on a computerized betting simulation of possible outcomes. These simulations are unrealistic in that they can't test what skillful handing of a gaming contest will entail Individuals have a number of options that simulations do not consider. A player may quit at the "right time." He may adjust or change his bet selection methods to respond to changing conditions in the game he is playing. He may raise or lower his bets as circumstances indicate. He has the option of pulling off losing tables, with only modest losses. Conversely, he may go for blood during winnings sessions. He may lock up profits and limit losses. The Take Down System combines many of these "player strengths" to reduce the house edge to close to zero. Then, using specific betting strategies, the player can actually gain an advantage over the house. The result is that the player can win far higher amounts much more consistently than conventional analysis of craps would predict. After you learn how to use correct strategy to play the game, you will learn to apply a set of betting rules. These rules may seem a little complicated when you first read them, but they are easy to use and highly effective. Once you have absorbed how to play and what to do under different circumstances, and practiced your skill to make sure that you can play under casino conditions, you will be ready to take on the casinos. 41

42 When you learn how to play and beat the game, there will be no holding you back. You will know how to make wagers that offer a minimum edge or "vig" to the casinos and how to increase your winnings during a winning roll. You can literally use the Take Down System to get rich playing craps. If you want to make $1,000 to $5,000 a day at craps, this is the strategy for you. Once you start winning at craps, it is like coining your own money. The casino chips will fill your rails, and you will find that the casino personnel will even offer many comps to you. "Comps" are casino jargon for complimentaries, and if you follow my advice and use the Take Down System correctly, you will not only beat the casinos, but you will have the bosses fawning on you offering you free meals, free rooms, show tickets and even offering to pay your airfare. If you want to learn to play craps professionally, you have come to the right place. Once you learn to apply this powerful strategy, you will have a way to consistently beat the casinos and there is nothing they can do to stop you! Skillful blackjack players always run the risk of being barred from playing. In Nevada, card counters have been treated like card cheats or criminals in the past, simply because they were applying their skill to beat a casino game. With craps, you will never have to worry about being barred because of your skillful play. When you start to pull down huge wins, all the bosses can do is sweat and pay you off. If you are a high roller, you can take the casino for thousands of dollars in just a few minutes using the Take Down System and there's nothing the house can do about it. If you are a low roller, I will show you how you can use your winnings to vault into the high roller category in a short time period. In writing this book, I realize that the readers will be a diverse group. Some of you will never have played the game. Others will have played the game but may not understand all of the wagers and payoffs. Regardless of your level of play, this book will teach you how to win. 42

43 By the time you finish reading, you are going to know more about craps than most persons involved in the game, including casino managers, pit bosses and dealers. I know that you will put this knowledge to good use. I am always interested in hearing about your experiences using the Take Down System. My publisher is very good about forwarding letters to me, and I look forward to hearing about your casino adventures. 43

44 Why Play Craps? Dice have been used as gambling devices for several thousand years. Even the language of dice reflects its influence on history. When Caesar made his decision to take his army across the Rubicon in defiance of the edicts of the Roman Senate, he chose his response from the language of the dice player: "Iacta alea est." The die is cast. Gambling with dice is pervasive. It has been found in almost every culture, from American Indians to Africans. The Greeks and Romans used dice made of bone or ivory; others used dice made of bronze, onyx, alabaster, marble or even porcelain. Early forms of dice were called astragals by the Greeks. Usually made from the knucklebones of sheep they had only four sides. Sliding these dice down their hands and across the top of their fingers before tossing them, Greek women often used them not only for gambling but as an implement in fortune telling. During Christ's time, the Romans played dice games. During Christ's crucifixion, the Roman guards tossed the bones playing for his clothing. Herodotus wrote that dice were used in Lydia in Asia Minor. The rulers would often encourage their people to play dice games in times of famine to take their minds off of hunger. The Romans loved to play high stakes games. Nero was an inveterate dice gambler. Caligula would be considered a degenerate gambler if he were alive today. He frequently lost large amounts of money at dice. He often resorted to seizing the property of his subjects to pay his gambling debts. That this resulted in death, enslavement or imprisonment for his unfortunate victims apparently gave Caligula little cause for concern. Roman soldiers and rulers were not the only ones who tossed the dice. Paintings found in the buried ruins of Pompeii showed men being kicked out of taverns over some dice dispute. Dice playing was often associated with drunkenness and various forms of unlawful behavior. The Romans, in exasperation, finally banned dice games except for 44

45 during December, which being the month of Saturn, was a time when all kinds of immoral behavior was expected, including dice games. The American colonists found that Indians often played dice games. The rattling and clicking noises made by dice were usually accompanied by a frenzied atmosphere. Toms-toms announced the beginning of each gambling bout, and drums pounded incessantly all through the games which often lasted for days. A line from an old Indian song describes the fever of the games: "I will go home if I am beaten, to get more articles to wager." Once into their wagering, the Indians played a true "no limits" game. An early Jesuit explorer, Pierre Francois Xavier de Charlevoix, in describing the Hurons said: "At this game, of which these people are fondest, they sometimes lose their rest and in some measure their reason. At the game they hazard all they possess, and many do not leave till they are almost stripped quite naked and till they have lost all they have in their cabins. Some have been know to stake their liberty for a time, which fully proves their passion for this game, for there are no men in the world more jealous of their liberty than savages." Craps is of American origin. Some time after 1800 around New Orleans, the American Blacks begin playing a version of the game, no doubt adapted from the English game Hazard, which the French sometimes called craps. The New Orleans version of craps moved up the Mississippi on the nineteenth century river boats. By about 1890, the game began appearing in the form of bank craps in some American casinos. The big casino game at this time was Faro, and craps did not become really popular until World War II after thousands of GIs learned backroom craps or street craps. The great Chicago fire of 1891 might have been started because of a craps game. The usual story of the origin of the fire was that Mrs. O'Leary was milking her cow when the cow kicked over a lantern and started the fire. During the trial, Mrs. O'Leary stated that she was not in the barn when the fire broke out. In 1944 Louis Cohn told of the true origin 45

46 of the fire. He was winning a craps game in the barn and got so excited that he kicked over the lantern. Street craps, also called private craps, backroom craps or even back alley craps, was where a lot of gamblers first cut their teeth. Street craps always favors the wrong better who bets against the shooter making his point. The mathematics of dice, which we'll talk about a bit later, favors the wrong bettor in any back alley game. Most people don't know this, and most players wouldn't change their betting style if they did. There are a couple of problems with betting wrong all of the time. For one thing, a lot of players don't like it. They figure you are running some kind of scam or are a dice hustler. The second risk is that when the dice get hot and stay hot, the wrong bettor can find himself facing escalating losses which can wipe out hours of winnings in a few minutes. The casinos have simplified the game of craps by banking the game. It is no longer necessary to find another player to fade your bet; the house or bank fades or "banks" all the bets. This can be a real advantage for the wrong bettor. He doesn't have to disguise his moves because the house doesn't really care how he bets since they figure that they hold the hammer on all players anyway. But the casinos did one thing to hurt the wrong bettor. They took away his mathematical advantage over right betters. With street craps, the right bettor (betting for the dice to pass) fights odds of about 1.4% against him. The wrong bettor (betting for the dice to miss) has an advantage of about 1.4% working for him. his is why the only sensible way to bet in street craps is to bet wrong. When the casinos cleaned up the game, they barred the number 12, or in some cases the number 2, as a win for the don't bettor on a come out roll. With this rule change, the wrong bettor bucks about the same odds of losing as the right bettor. So in theory it 46

47 doesn't make much difference which way you bet in bank craps. The casino has an edge on all bets. So why play craps? Because its origins are ancient? Because some old dice degenerate taught me how to beat the game? Naw. Not good enough. I don't think that anyone ought to play the game unless they play to win. Not for fun. Not because the game is the number one casino action game. These reasons are not good enough. The only reason to play the game is to learn how to hold the hammer over the bastard casinos. And I am not trying to talk anyone into taking up gambling. I don't have to. Nearly everyone gambles. And most do it badly. If you don't gamble, don't take it up on my account. But if you do, I want to present a little theory on why you should consider craps, and if you do pick craps, how you can learn to hammer the game. Let's assume that you don't know zip about casino gambling and you are thinking about the choice of games. I plan on presenting a pretty good case for choosing craps. But don't take my word for it. Consider for a minute the house edge or advantage over the player in most casino games. Craps offers lower odds than any other casino table game! When you can get numbers down to less than two percent against you, the game is beatable if you know what you are doing. And that's why I'm here. I'll show you what you need to do to beat craps. 47

48 Craps has some advantages over the other casino games that don't show up in tables of house advantages. It is the only game that lets you bet that a number won't show. Ever try that in roulette. Walk up to the table and tell the croupier that you want to bet a no-36 on the next roll. They'll send for the men in little white coats. But in craps, you can always bet that a number does or doesn't show. You have the ultimate flexibility in putting together a winning strategy. Before I start talking about strategies, I want to review the game with you. Read on to learn about the most fascinating game in the casino. 48

49 The Game If you have ever played craps in the back room of a store, or on an old bed cover spread on the floor, you have played street craps. The shooter would establish his point, and everyone would stand around until he made his point, or sevened out. The casino version of the game is called bank craps. The casino acts as the bank, rather than players betting against each other. In addition, numerous other bets are allowed. In the casino version of craps, you can bet pass or don't pass, come or don't come, make place bets, buy and lay bets, or bet the hardways or any one of several proposition bets. You can make one roll bets like the field, or make bets which stay up until a decision occurs, like pass line wagers. You have a great variety of bets that can be made. A right bettor (one who expects the shooter to make his point) could have as many as twenty bets on the table at one time. Craps is the traditional game of high rollers. It is the fastest and most exciting casino game. It is the only casino table game where it is possible to run a $100 stake into $10,000 in a couple of hours. And it is the most vocal of all casino games. Walk into any casino and listen to where all the noise is coming from. It's the craps players yelling up a storm. Every throw of the dice evokes a new response of whoops and hollers. Now stroll back to the blackjack tables or the roulette wheel. There is hardly a whimper from the players. The blackjack players are using hand signs to signal the dealer. A blackjack player could play for a week and not utter a word. In craps, the players are constantly talking to the dice, the dealers and each other. 49

50 CRAPS LAYOUT To the novice player, the game appears very intimidating. Everyone else knows what he or she is doing, or so it seems. Once, when I was showing a lady companion how to play the game, she looked down for her bet and it was gone. "What happened to my bet?" she asked. The shooter had rolled a come-out craps and her pass line bet had been whisked away by the dealer. She felt like she had hardly settled in and they already had the audacity to take her bet. The game moves very fast for the newcomer, but after you learn the game, you will notice the times when the game is slowed down (to your irritation) much more than the times it is speeded up. The game is fast, but it only seems fast when you don't understand the bets or what the dealers and players are doing. Because of the speed of the game, and the variety of bets available, what is normally the best casino game for a player becomes a trap for many. Many people lose money at a ferocious rate at craps because they lay down too many bets and have no patience. Most casinos figure to keep about 20% of the drop at craps, that is, win 20% of all money exchanged for chips at the craps table. 50

51 The thing I like best about craps is that when you start to win, there's not a damn thing the house can do about it. In Las Vegas, blackjack card counters get thrown out for winning. Winning craps players can cause the casino bosses to break into a cold sweat, but they are not thrown out. Usually the bosses start engaging in "slow down" tactics at a table where the players are killing the house. The boxman may reprimand the shooter for his shooting style. (I've seen players chewed on for shooting too high, too low, too hard or too soft you tell me). When the shooter starts to make pass after pass with lots of numbers in between, the action can get serious. When the majority of players have black ($100) or purple ($500) chips in play, the casino can drop $50,000 to $100,000 in short order. I have seen individual players win over $100,000 at the craps table. The bosses will try to slow down the game, excessively examine the dice between rolls, bring in fresh racks of chips and in general make total nuisances of themselves, but the players are allowed to keep on winning. Isn't this a great game? I recently showed a young man how to play craps in a casino. He was a died-in-thewool blackjack aficionado, with delusions of counting down multiple decks. After an hour at the craps table I asked him what he thought. He calmly turned to me and said, "Well, I guess I'm finished with blackjack." If you have played the game before, forgive me my waxing eloquent. If you haven't played, then please take the time to try it or better yet, use my system so you will win. Most casinos will have at least one craps table, except for the slot palaces specializing in the one-armed bandit trade. Some states allow slots and blackjack, or some other combination of casino games, and exclude craps. The "real" casinos will have at least one craps table. The big joints in Nevada and Atlantic City will have eight or more craps tables per casino. 51

52 Now that the casinos in many other states have come of age, you can experience Las Vegas style craps all over the country. I have played in a number of these casinos and always enjoyed the hospitality. Of course I enjoyed winning money from them too. The area of the casino where the craps tables are grouped is called the craps pit. The casino employee in charge of this area is known as the craps pit boss. Casino craps tables may range in size from 14 to over 20 feet. They look like oversized billiard tables. In the old days some of the floating craps games and games in sawdust joints used to convert billiard tables by attaching boards to the sides of billiard tables to act as backstops for the dice. This was also handy when the law showed. Pull the sideboards down and the boys were just having an innocent game of billiards. The number of players who can play at a craps table is limited only to the number who can squeeze in. If the table is crowded, it is considered polite to ask if you can fit in, rather than just shoving your way into the table. Some craps players have been known to shove back, and asking is usually the better policy. If the table is crowded, the nearest dealer will usually ask the players to scoot over, if you ask nicely. The tables are covered with felt which is usually colored green, but I have seen them in shades of blue, purple and even eye jarring red. I don't recommend the red ones though, and especially not for all night sessions; they are way too hard on the eyes. The possible craps bets are marked on the felt in a pattern of betting areas called the craps layout. In the old days, these were drawn on billiard tables with chalk. Now they are all nice and printed. The table layout has three sections. The middle section, called the center, rests under the watchful eye of the person on stick. The end sections are mirror images of each other, with one dealer per end. 52

53 The center bets contain the lousiest bets in the game such as the hardways bets and a number of one-roll bets. I will tell you about these bets, but in general, you can enjoy a long and successful craps career without ever tossing a chip to the center section for a wager. The more important wagers are available on the end sections of the table. Here you will find pass line bets, which are made by over 90% of all craps players, place bets, come bets, don't pass wagers, don't come bets, field bets, the Big 6 and Big 8 wagers, and buy and lay bets. Odds bets, which are not marked on the table, are also made on the end sections of the table. There are usually four casino employees at a craps table. The person seated in the middle of the table, in front of the casino's chips, is the boxman. Today, many of these boxmen are box women, so I guess you ought to call them box people, which doesn't quite sound right. Anyway, these box people are in charge of the craps table. They count your cash when you buy in and drop your cash into the dropbox, watch the dealers, settle disputes with players, and in general act as managers of the game. Many times a floorman, who also may be a female, will be standing behind the boxman. If you have casino credit and need a marker to buy in, the floorman will accommodate you. They will also rate you if you are trying to get a comp. A comp is a "freebie" from the casino, which can range 53

54 from a buffet lunch, to RFB, which stands for Room, Food and Beverages. This means the casino pays for just about everything. Many times the floorman may be joined by the pit boss, the big honcho of the craps pit. If the game is very active, another boxman may be brought in as well. In addition to all the bosses, there are three working stiffs who handle all of the players' wagers. The dealer in the center of the table, called the stickman, handles all of the center bets for players, calls the game and moves the dice around with a stick. The dealers on each end handle the bets for the end sections of the table. There are four dealers to a crew, and they rotate positions every twenty minutes, with one of the crew taking a break at that time. Each dealer takes turns at the stick and at each end of the table. The dealers at each end of the table, sometimes called inside dealers oversee all bets on his or her end of the table. They make change for players and place, book and arrange player bets. They make sure that all bets are for the correct amounts and placed properly on the table. The major job of the stickman is to control the flow of the dice. A stickman will also advertise the different betting options of the game available to the players. For example, if the last shooter just sevened out, the stickman will ask the next player, "Would you like to shoot the dice?" Or, he may say, "Do you want your bets working on the comeout." Or, "Who wants their hardways working on the come-out roll?" 54

55 An active stickman can really liven up the game. The action of the game can be announced in a very enthusiastic and colorful fashion. This tends to stimulate the players to make more and bolder wagers, which is exactly what the house wants. The person on the stick will constantly extort players to make bets in the center of the table where the odds range from miserable (Hard Six or Hard Eight 9.09% in favor of the house) to ridiculous (any of the one roll bets house odds from 11.11% to 16.67%). The stickman often uses craps superstitions to exhort the players to make the worst bets. One craps superstition is that if the player's point is one of the even numbers of 4, 6, 8 or 10, for which there is a corresponding hardway bet, betting the number to show the hard way will help bring out the number. In general you can ignore the betting advice of the dealers on stick. Their recommended bets are the best wagers for the house, not for you. The stickman also sets the pace of the game. He must observe both the players and the dealers so that potential bets are not missed and the inside dealers are not rushed into making mistakes. Stickmen will also help dealers with the payoffs of bets when possible. Ether the inside dealers or the stickman can book the proposition bets located in the center of the table. If the stickman gets bogged down, an inside dealer will usually pitch in so that they work together as a team. A boxman may also help the stickman. While players should be given a reasonable amount of time to make the prop bets, the game shouldn't be slowed down. If you want to wager on a proposition bet, be sure that 55

56 the stickman or the nearest inside dealer hears you and acknowledges the bet. Once the dice are in the shooter's hands, the stickman's eyes will be glued on the dice and he may not see incoming bets. Each table has its own table limits. These limits are usually shown on small plaques at each end of the table, on the side rail next to the standing dealer. Both minimum and maximum bets for the table are shown. Typical table limits are $2 minimum, $200 maximum (smaller casinos) or $5 minimum, $1,000 maximum (larger joints). Sometimes the plaques are colored to match the chip color of the minimum wager required. The color red is used for tables with $5 minimums, while green might signify a $25 minimum bet requirement. Minimum wagers will vary from casino to casino and from table to table in the same joint. A $5 minimum table may be operating next to a $25 minimum table. Table minimums will be raised whenever more players are available such as at night or on weekends. It is always to the casino's advantage to have higher minimums set. Many players, who should be making $2 wagers, will make $10 or even $25 wagers if that's what the house mandates. From a player's viewpoint, higher minimum wagers can be devastating. If the house does not offer a minimum wager within your range, then don't play the game. Many players have no idea of the relationship between the bankroll used for a craps session and the minimum wager that should be used. As a result, they get cleaned out in short order playing beyond their means. If you want to play where the maximum wagers won't restrict your style, try Binion's Horseshoe Club in downtown Las Vegas. The place caters to craps players, offering ten times odds and wall-to-wall craps tables. Your maximum wager is limited to the amount of your first wager. If you want to bet a million bucks a pop, just clear it with one of the managers, they will accommodate your action. The Horseshoe Club still follows Benny Binion, its founder's rule for maximum wages accepted, which is that your highest wager is limited to the amount you will bet for your first bet. Several years ago a player waked into the Horseshoe Club with two suitcases. One was empty and the other was filed with cash. After counting his cash, the 56

57 bosses agreed to accept his wager in the amount of $777,777. He bet on the don't pass, which is marginally better than a pass line bet. The shooter picked up the dice and rolled six as his point. Now six is a very easy point to hit and not the best number to be wagering against as the big player was. The shooter rolled a number. Then he rolled one more. Undoubtedly the big player gave this roll his undivided attention, as he was only a roll away from doubling his money or losing it all. On the third roll a seven showed. The casino paid off the wager in cash, the same way in which it was wagered. The big player left with two suitcases full of cash, which is the best way to leave any casino. While we are on the subject of downtown Vegas, which is the location of the Horseshoe Club, I want to mention quarter craps. Some of you eastern players who have been weaned on ten buck minimum tables may sneer, but I have had some of best action on the quarter craps tables. For twenty bucks, you can begin your craps education. Here, for five bucks, you can have several bets working for you. The games are getting harder to find, but you can still find them in down-town Vegas. Casinos use checks or chips in place of cash at the craps table. While the casino bosses prefer to call them checks, I will call them chips like 99.9% of the players do. Chips come in $1, $5, $25, $100, $500 and $1,000 denominations with twenty five-cent chips thrown in for the tables that allow them. Each chip is colored differently. One-dollar chips may come in any color, or the casino may use dollar slot tokens as chips. Five-dollar chips are usually red, $25 chips, green and $100 chips, black. Five hundred-dollar chips are usually purple. The big $1,000 chips come in various flavors. I'm sure you will remember the color if you are playing with them. Cash is not used at the table, so you must change your cash for chips. When you first arrive at the table, you lay your cash on the table and ask the dealer for change. Watch the table before you barge in. Wait until the shooter has thrown the dice. It is extremely bad dice etiquette to have the dice bounce off your hand. When you are buying in, you do not hand the cash to the dealer. Instead, place it on the table when the dice are not rolling. If you want a certain number of chips of different denominations, just ask the dealer. For example, let's say you buy in for $500. Normally the dealer will give you $100 57

58 in red $5 chips and $400 in green $25 chips. If you want some $1 chips, just ask the dealer and he or she will accommodate you. The boxman will count your cash, drop it into a slot in the table where it falls into the dropbox, and tell the dealer the amount of chips to give you. The dropbox is also known as the coffin, as once your cash goes in it is gone as in "buried." You will not deal in cash again while you are at the table and will only convert your chips back to cash at the casino cashier's window. After hearing the amount approved by the boxman, the inside dealer will place the chips in front of you. It is your job to pick up the chips and get them off the table. Your chips may be kept in the rail in front of you on the top of the sidewall of the table. Sometimes players throw currency on the table for a bet, for change or for odds on a come or don't come bet. Many times the dealer doesn t know what it is for. Most dealers will ask the player what they want to do, or acknowledge the bet as in "Twenty dollars as a come bet," or "Ten dollars on the field." If the dealer is uncertain what the bet is for he will call out "No bet on the ten dollars." Most tables have two grooves for chips in the side rails. I like to use one for chips I use for tracking my bets and the other for the remainder of my chips. When I am winning I also like to separate my original buy-in from my winnings so that I can tell at a glance how far ahead I am. When you have finished playing, you must take your chips to the casino cashier to convert them to cash. The craps table only takes cash for chips, not vice versa. With your chips in the rail in front of you, you are now ready to begin playing. I recommend that you keep one hand over your chips. Some thieves like to snatch chips from careless players and you should keep your eye on your chips. Unless you are the only player at the table, the craps game will be in progress when you arrive. The game consists of a series of mini-games. A player who rolls the dice is 58

59 called the shooter. This player will roll the dice on one or more come-out rolls until a point number of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 is rolled. After a point number is rolled, the shooter will continue to roll the dice until one of two things occurs. If a 7 is rolled before the point number, the shooter has sevened out and a new shooter will try his or her hand at making a point. If the point number is rolled before a 7, the shooter has made the point and has the opportunity to shoot again. Many persons use the term "crapping out." There is no such thing in craps. A shooter may throw a craps number of 2, 3 or 12 but this does not affect his term as the shooter. The designated shooter may continue to hold the dice and shoot so long as he does not roll a seven after establishing a point. Then he has sevened out and must relinquish the dice to the stickman who will offer them to the next player. Each mini-game at the dice table consists of a shooter establishing a point and then rolling the dice in an attempt to repeat the point number. Of course, in bank craps, a lot of wagers can be made in between. This is part of the excitement of the game. There may be thousands of dollars riding on each roll of the dice. After a shooter fails to make his point and sevens out, the dice will be offered by the stickman to the next player. The dice circulate around the table in a clockwise fashion, with each player, in turn, being offered a chance to roll the dice. The only requirement to shoot the dice is for the shooter to make a line bet, that is, a bet on the pass line or don't pass line. Any person who does not wish to shoot the dice may refuse when the dice are offered. There is no stigma to not shooting the dice, and many players do not shoot as a rule. Usually the players, who are betting against the other shooters (wrong bettors in craps parlance) by making such wagers as don't pass and don't come bets, will refuse to shoot. A white disk, called a puck is used on the table to indicate whether a shooter is in the "coming out" phase of the game or whether he is trying to roll an established point. When the player is coming out, the disk usually is placed in the don't come betting area, 59

60 with the black side marked "Off" showing. I have also seen the pucks placed in the center of the table in front of the boxman's chips between points. There is one puck at each end of the table and the inside dealer working that end of the table handles one. After a point is established, the puck will be in the come point box for the shooter's point, with the white side marked "On" showing. There are two sides to each puck. When the white "On" side is up all odds, place and buy bets are working. When the black "Off" side is up these bets are off unless stated otherwise by the player. If some bets are working and some are off, on and off buttons are placed on top of the wagers to show the status of each bet. By observing the disk you can always tell if the shooter is trying to establish a point, or if a point has already been made. This is important as pass line and don't pass wagers are made before a point has been established, and other wagers, such as come and don't come bets are always made after the point is established. I have one more word of advice before moving into the intricacies of the game. Keep track of your own bets. Dealers track individual bets by positioning the chips in each betting area to correspond with the position of the player at the table. By observing where the dealer places your chips, you can tell exactly which bets are yours. When the table action is heavy, it is not uncommon for a dealer to miss paying off a winning bet, or to place your winning chips in front of another player. It is your responsibility to watch your own bets and know when they win or lose so that you won't reach for another player's winnings or let another player pick up your winnings. I was playing on one of the casinos in northern New Mexico shortly after Indian gaming became legal. I was ready to finish the session and had only one bet remaining up, a $100 wager on a don't come six. Naturally since my bet would win only when the shooter rolled a seven, his roll continued on and on with every number hitting except my no-6. I waited and waited, not wanting to make any additional bets since I had already had a good win and was ready to leave. Finally, the shooter rolled a seven. Since he had had a good roll, the table was covered with lots of come bets with odds and place bets and 60

61 my singular black chip on the no-6. When the 7 was rolled, the dealer swept all of the chips in the point boxes over to the house side of the table, appropriating these bets for the house. This was correct except for one small detail. The shooter's seven was a winning roll for me and the dealer owed me $200. When I pointed out the error, the dealer just stared at the mound of chips he had created when he swept all of the losing wagers into a pile. Fortunately the boxman remembered my wager and instructed the dealer to slide two black chips my way. Whenever you win a bet, remember to pick up the chips promptly. Chips left on the table will probably be considered a wager, and if you forget to pick up your winnings, you will probably be making another wager whether you intended to or not. Many players act like the dealers are the enemy at the craps table. They're not. Most are decent people working at a thankless job where obnoxious players are the rule rather than the exception. There are a few dealers with an "attitude." When I encounter one of these people, I just change tables. Life is too short to put up with aggravating people. But most dealers are competent, efficient and friendly if you give them half a chance. A good dealer will remind you to take odds or to make some bet that you normally make. Most dealers are rooting for you to win. A dealer's salary is very low, and dealers depend on tips or tokes to make a decent living. When you are at a table with friendly, helpful dealers, you should plan on tipping or toking them. Many players toke or tip dealers by tossing a couple of chips for the boys on the hardway bets. These are long shot bets which pay either 7 to 1 (Hard 4 and 10) or 9 to 1 (Hard 6 and 8). Most dealers appreciate a bet made on their behalf on a wager with a better chance of winning. If you are wagering on the pass line, you should make an occasional pass line wager "for the boys." When you make a wager for the dealers, tell your dealer that the bet is for the dealers. He will tell the boxman, and if the wager wins, you will have toked the dealers. You will notice that when you make a dealer bet which wins, a dealer will place the winnings in his breast pocket. The dealer's word for a tip "toke" comes from the word "token." 61

62 It is not necessary to tip the dealers as frequently if you are losing. They will understand. If you are winning, they appreciate the occasional tip. It is better to tip the dealers while you are playing rather than tipping as you prepare to leave. When the dealers know that you are not a stiff, their normally good service becomes even better. If you are using the Take Down System you will be winning most of the time. I like to tip dealers early in the game so that they know that I am a "George" or tipping player. Believe me, dealers receiving tips will go out of their way to watch out for your interests. I have had many occasions when dealers whom I was regularly tipping have overpaid me. I have also had losing bets ignored and left up. If a dealer overpays you, you should never call attention to it. I have felt on many occasions that the dealers were repaying me for my tipping with an unspoken agreement between us. One time a dealer was consistently overpaying me on come bets. My come bets were going "off and on" which means that I would have a new come bet in the come box replacing a come bet which had just hit. In this situation a good dealer will leave both of the come bets up and just place the winnings in a separate stack in the come betting box. This particular dealer overpaid me for a couple of bets. I made a come bet for the boys which promptly won and I gave the chips to the dealer. My next winning come bet was overpaid by a chip. I continued to make occasional wagers for the dealers, and the dealer continued to overpay my come bets. I believe that we had formed a kind of partnership that was benefiting both of us. Whenever the boxman was watching my end of the table the dealer paid off the bets correctly. However, there were two large bettors at the other end of the table, and the boxman's attention was focused there. Even if you are not rewarded by overpaid bets, the atmosphere at the craps table will improve once you are perceived to be a tipper. What's more, all of the casino personnel will respect you as a class gambler who knows the rules and respects and appreciates the hard work the dealers perform. 62

63 HOUSE ADVANTAGE IN CERTAIN CASINO GAMES Keno Average about 25.00% Horse Racing Big Six Slot Machines 15.00% and up 11.00% and up 1.50% to 25.00%, use 8.00% as an average Video Poker 0.00% to 15.00% Roulette Double zero 5.26% Single zero (Atlantic City) 2.63% Single zero with en prison rule (Europe) 1.35% Baccarat Player 1.36% Banker 1.17% Blackjack No strategy 5.00% to 20.00% Basic strategy with multi decks 1.50% Card counting theoretical advantage -2.00% Craps Pass, Come, Don't Pass, Don't Come 1.40% Odds Bets: Single odds 0.80% Double odds 0.60% Hardway 6 or % Hardway 4 or % Any Craps 11.11% Place, field, proposition bets 1.51% to 16.70% 63

64 The Casino Craps Layout The layout of the craps table is printed on the felt surface of the craps table. The layout consists of boxes, spaces and other defined areas showing the various types of bets accepted by the casino. Players, who typically stand around the craps table, may view their bets at any time by observing the chips, representing their wagers, placed in the appropriate betting box. While most bets allowed by the casino are shown in the printed layout, one of the most important wagers, the odds bet, is not shown on the layout. I will show you how to make this wager a little later. Most layouts are printed with white letters and lines against a green background. Some casinos use yellow printing on green felt. The Las Vegas Hilton uses a blue felt cover for its craps tables, and I have had the displeasure of playing on eye-jarring red colored layouts in some casinos. Green is the best background color for craps layouts. It is easy on the eyes and the lettering is easy to read. Playing with different color combinations, dreamed up by some marketing department, can be extremely fatiguing, especially the red background with white lettering combination. The Las Vegas craps layout is shown below. This is the most common craps layout in the United States and is the one you are most likely to encounter. The layout is divided into three distinct parts. The two end sections are mirror images of each other, and between them is a betting area known as the center. This section contains all of the hardway and proposition bets. 64

65 Las Vegas Craps Layout These wagers are managed by the stickman, who places the wagers and makes the payoffs. This center section could just as easily be called the "lousy bet section" as none of the wagers offered in this section have decent payoffs. If you customarily make many bets in the center section of the craps table, you will be giving the house a huge advantage over you. Unless you are using some of these wagers as an occasional hedge type wager, my advice is to stay away from them. The end sections of the table are controlled by a standing dealer at each end. These sections contain the wagers we will be most concerned with. Some of the end section wagers include the pass line wager, which the majority of craps players make. This is the bet which is perfect for those who want to wager that the shooter will make his point. Other important wagers located at the end sections are the come bets and the place bets. While these types of wagers are made in different ways, they each accomplish the same thing. These wagers are on the box or point numbers of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10, printed across the row of boxes near the top of each end section. If a player wagers one or more of 65

66 these numbers, either through come or place bets, he sets up a game within a game where he can win on many different numbers and not just the shooter's point. Don't pass and don't come wagers are made in boxes much smaller than the pass line and come boxes as these wagers are not nearly as popular. Buy and lay bets are also made with the assistance of the standing dealer at an end section. Field bets dominate a large area on the bottom half of the end section. Field bets are one-roll wagers that one of the wagers printed on the layout, that is a 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12 will show on the next roll. The large irregularly shaped areas at the lower corners of the end sections are the Big 6 and Big 8 wagers. These wagers offer decent payoffs under the rules played in Atlantic City, but are terrible wagers on most craps tables. I will have a lot more to say about this later. Some of the most important wagers in the craps game are odds bets which are also made at the end sections of the table. These are the only wagers which pay off at correct odds and offer no advantage or "vig" to the house. Naturally, there are no boxes for these wagers on the layout but they are easy to make. I'll show you exactly how to make these wagers. In England, you will find win instead of pass line wagers and don't win replacing don't pass wagers. Some foreign casinos do not allow come or don't come wagers, and if you wish to bet on the numbers, you must do so with place bets. Before we learn more about the specific wagers which can be made at craps, let's get some background on the math behind this game. 66

67 The Dice The combinations possible with two six-sided dice determine all of the possible payoffs in craps. Each die is imprinted with from one to six dots so that the lowest number which can be rolled with two dice is a 2 (1-1) and the highest number, 12 (6-6). Together, a total of thirty-six combinations are possible ranging from 2 to 12. Casino dice are different from the ordinary dice sold with most games. The casino dice measure about 3/4 of an inch in diameter and are precisely made so that each side is the same size as every other side. They are made of clear transparent plastic and are usually colored red. Each die has a code number imprinted on it corresponding to a numbering scheme implemented by the casino where the dice are used. The code numbers of the five dice used at a craps table are noted by the boxman, so that no other dice resembling the official dice may be introduced into the game by dice cheats. Dice Combinations The combinations of numbers possible with a pair of six-sided dice are 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 for eleven numbers. Not all of these combinations are equally likely to appear. The differences in the likelihood of different combinations appearing form the basis for all payoffs and probabilities in craps. The most common number is 7. There are more ways that a 7 can be rolled than any other number. If you examine a die, you will notice that the totals of any two opposite sides always equal 7. A 7 can be made no matter what number is on one die, for a 7 can be made with either a 1 or a 6 showing on one die, which no other number can do. For instance, a 6 cannot be rolled if a 6 is showing on one die, and an 8 is not possible with a 1 showing. The key number in dice is 7. It determines most of the odds of the game because of its 67

68 unique status determining winners and losers on both come-out rolls and against established points. The next most common numbers are 6 and 8. They can be rolled five different ways. The 5 and 9 follow with four combinations possible and then the 4 and 10 with three combinations possible. The 3 and 11 can be rolled two ways while the 2 or 12 can only be rolled in one way. The following table shows the various ways that dice can be rolled: 68

69 COMBINATIONS OF DICE Number Combinations , , 3-1, , 4-1, 2-3, , 5-1, 2-4, 4-2, , 6-1, 2-5, 5-2, 3-4, , 6-2, 3-5, 5-3, , 6-3, 4-5, , 6-4, , Total 36 Ways Number Can be Made 7 is King All point numbers are measured against the possibility of a 7 being rolled in determining the correct odds against rolling a point number before a 7 is rolled. The point numbers are 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10. If any of these numbers are wagered on, either through pass line wagers, come bets, buy bets or place bets, the odds are always against that number being rolled before a 7 is rolled. 69

70 In addition to the point numbers, wagers can be made on the numbers 2, 3, 7, 11 and 12. These numbers can only be wagered as one-roll bets. The numbers can be bet as proposition bets, located in the center of the table, or by making field bets in the field betting area located at each end of the table. With these bets, the player is wagering that the number will appear on the next roll of the dice. The table below shows the correct odds against any of these numbers being rolled on the very next roll. PROBABILITIES OF 2, 3, 7, 11 OR 12 BEING MADE ON NEXT ROLL Number Ways to Roll Odds Against on Next Roll Odds Against the Point Numbers The advantage the 7 has over any point number is overwhelming. The following table shows the odds against rolling any point or box number before 7 shows. These odds are determined from the previous table, where the number of ways a number can be made are compared for each number versus the six ways a 7 can be made. 70

71 ODDS OF ROLLING A 7 VERSUS POINT NUMBERS Point Number Ways to Roll Point Number Odds Against Point Number In craps, the number 7 cuts two ways. On come out rolls, right bettors, wagering pass line or come, will win if a 7 is rolled, and wrong bettors, betting don't pass or don't come, will lose if a 7 is rolled. That is the bane of wrong betting. Once a don't bet is in place, it has a devastating advantage over the house, but it must run the gauntlet of the first roll. Casino Payoffs All of the casino payoffs are at less than correct odds except for odds wagers. However, the catch to making odds wagers is that they can only be made in conjunction with a pass line, come, don't pass or don't come wager, each of which offers an advantage to the house. 71

72 The casino gains its edge by paying off wagers at less than the correct odds. It is by shortchanging winning wagers that the casino extracts its toll in the craps game. If you walked up to a craps table, lost five straight wagers and walked away cursing the casino, you could not really claim that the house advantage got you. Since you only had losing wagers, the house did not extract any mathematical advantage over you on these wagers. Let me show you how this works. Let's consider the any craps wager which is shown at the bottom of the center section and which pays off at 8 for 1. This wager is a one-roll bet that a craps number of 2, 3 or 12 will show on the next roll. Referring to the Combinations of Dice table, you will see that there are four ways that any of these numbers can be rolled. Since the total number of combinations of numbers is 36, the chance of rolling a craps number is 4/36 or 1/9, which is the same as 8 to 1. At a glance it looks like the casino is offering true odds on this wager. However, if you win this wager, the casino will give you seven chips back for each one you wagered. If you bet $1 and win, the casino will give you $7 back and leave your $1 bet up. If you take your bet down, you will have $8 in your hand in place of the $1 you wagered. Notice, however, that you did not receive the payoff at true odds of 8 to 1, but rather, you got 7 chips back for each 1 chip wagered which is a 7 to 1 payoff. The "8 for 1" payoff shown on the craps layout is really the same as "7 to 1." There is no altruism here; the casino is not paying off the wager at true odds. In fact, the casino is engaging in a little deceit in that many players will think that the "for one" designation is the same as "to one," which it is not. What does paying off the wager at 7 to 1 instead of 8 to 1 gain the casino? The casino advantage over the player who makes the any craps bet is 11.11% The House Edge All craps wagers, except for the odds wagers, have a built-in toll or vig favoring the casino. Consider some of the other proposition bets offered in the center of the craps layout. 72

73 You can wager that a 12 will be thrown on the next roll by tossing a chip toward the center section and calling out to the stickman "Twelve please." He will move your chip to the 12 where it will stay until the next roll of the dice. If a 12 shows, you will win. If it doesn't, your chip will be pushed over to the boxman where it will rejoin the chips on the house's side of the table. Assume that you are lucky and a 12 shows. Most craps tables pay this wager off at 30 for 1 (29 to 1). The correct payoff for this wager is 35 to 1. By paying you at less than true odds, the casino extracts its vig of 16.67%. If you play in England you will be paid off at 30 to 1, reducing the house edge to 13.89%. And so it continues. The house gains its advantage in craps by shortchanging the winners. Protecting the Dice The casino bosses constantly check the dice during the course of a game. With regulation dice in the game they are confident that they will maintain an edge over the players, but with gaffed dice the odds could very well change to player advantage. Dealers, as well as the boxman and floor supervisors, all share the responsibility for protecting the dice, however the stickman has the greatest responsibility to watch the dice. If you watch the stickman, you will notice the he will keep his eyes on the dice at all times when the dice are not in the center of the table. When the dice are in the center of the table between rolls, a stickman will constantly rotate and turn the dice with his stick to insure that the spots on each side of each die add to seven. If they don't then someone has introduced gaffed dice into the game. You will notice that there is a mirror at table level opposite the person on stick. This mirror helps the stickman check the dice as any die will show both the facing side and the opposite side as reflected in the mirror. A pit supervisor or boxman observing the game may change the dice at any time if he suspects the dice have been tampered with or phony dice introduced. I have never 73

74 observed a casino supervisor changing the dice on a shooter, but it is an option available to the house. A shooter may request to have different dice at any time, although this is rare. Most shooters want to continue to use the same dice and will request "Same dice" if one of the dice rolls off the table. If the die is found, it will be returned to the stickman after the boxman has examined it. It the die cannot be found or if requesting the same die would slow down the game, the dealer will explain the problem to the shooter and ask that he select new dice. Stickmen and supervisors are constantly on the lookout for miss-spots, loads and bad edges, shaved corners, irregular shapes and the casino's log and identification number. Loads are dice with weighs inside. One of the reasons casino dice are transparent is so that a casino employee can look through them and see it they have any objects inside or if any of the spot inlays are thicker than they should be. One way to check for loaded dice is to spin the dice between your forefinger and thumb. If the die is loaded is will swing back and forth and always land in the same position. You will commonly see the boxman examine a die thrown off the table by gently rotating or spinning it in this manner. Casino employees also observe the shapes of dice. Edges that have been shaved or beveled will influence the fall of the dice. Shapes are special rigged dice set to have certain numbers roll more often than they normally would. With shapes, four of the sides of one die are not the same size with one side larger than the others. The side with the largest surface area will have a better chance of landing face down, with the opposite side being face up. No Dice Rolls Ideally, both dice will land flat after a roll and the stickman will call out the number. However there are times when it is difficult to do so. The dice may by cocked, 74

75 which occurs when a die lands on an object, usually a chip. A die leaning against an object will be called according to what would be its natural fall if the object was removed. If the dice happen to land on the dealer's working chips or on the top of a bet, it is "dice" and the roll is a fair roll. If the dice happen to land with one die on top of the other, it is dice and a number will be called. The inside dealer will usually remove the top die, set it on the table and call the number. Dice that cannot be read are called out "no dice" by the nearest dealer. The stickman will announce "No roll." No dice rolls occur when the dice land in the house's stacks of gaming chips in front of the seated boxman; one or more of the dice goes into the player's rail; a die is suspended equally between two objects; one or more of the dice leave the table, or if one or both of the dice land in the tray containing the extra dice called a boat. A good stickman will quickly make the call to reduce the likelihood of player disputes. How to Shoot the Dice The correct way to throw or shoot the dice is to use one hand and lob them using an underhanded throw so that they bounce on the table and then bounce off the back wall Dice should not be thrown over handed, nor should they be lofted high into the air. You definitely should not aim for the stickman's nose when shooting the dice. My rule here is to never hit anyone with a stick in his hand. Its the stickman's job to make sure that both dice are rolled properly. The dice should roll down the table. The shooter should not loft the dice or try to slide them down the table. When a roll is considered fair is up to the stickman. If the roll is very weak and does not bounce off the back wall the stickman may call "No roll." Weak or erratic rolls are common from players new to the game and most casino personnel will advise the shooter on how to improve his roll, rather than embarrassing him by calling no roll. 75

76 Some casinos permit setting the dice and others discourage it. Setting the dice consists of arranging the dice so that certain spots face up before shooting them. Most casinos will not object to you setting the dice so long as you do it quickly and do not delay the game. Next we will take a look at how the bets are made and paid off at craps. 76

77 The Bets Pass Line Bets Pass line bets are the most popular bets in the craps game for they involve the basic game as it has been played for thousands of years. There are two types of line bets: pass line and don't pass. Pass line bets, also called front line, or do bets are the basic bets made by right bettors, those bettors who are betting that the shooter will make his point. The bets are made by the player placing chips in the long narrow space on the craps layout marked pass line in this country, or Win Line in some games outside the United States. The house pays the wager at even money (1 to 1) and enjoys a percentage advantage of 1.414% over the wager. It is the most common bet at craps. A pass line bet is made before a come-out roll. Come-out rolls occur during three different circumstances: 1. When a new shooter is starting. 2. After a natural (a 7 or 11) or a craps (a 2, 3 or 12) is rolled on a come-out. 3. After a shooter has made a point and is rolling the dice to establish another point. A pass line wager wins on a come-out if a 7 or 11 is rolled, and loses if a craps number of 2, 3 or 12 appears. If any other number is rolled (a 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10), that number becomes the shooter's point. If the shooter repeats the point number before a 7 is rolled, the pass line wager wins. If a 7 shows before the shooter is able to repeat the point number, the pass line wager loses. When the dealer pushes the dice to you to roll for the first time, this is your comeout roll. If you roll a 7 or 11, you have rolled a natural and have an instant win. If you 77

78 bet $5, you will win even money and the dealer will place another $5 chip along side your wager. Be sure to pick up your winning unless you want to press or double your bet. When naturals are thrown on the come-out roll, the shooter will continue to roll the dice and the next roll will also be a come-out roll. If a shooter rolls a craps number, the pass line wager loses, but the same shooter will roll the dice. When a 2, 3 or 12 craps number is rolled causing a loss of the pass line bet, novice shooters sometimes think that they have lost the dice and "crapped out." However, this is not true. Only rolling a 7 after a point is established will cause the shooter to have to relinquish the dice. Let's assume you roll a 7, 2 and then a 5. Since 5 is a point number, it becomes your point. You will continue to roll the dice until you either roll a 5, giving you a win on the pass line, or roll a 7, and seven out. A pass line wager involves a sort of contract with the casino. Once the bet has been made and a point has been established, you have contracted with the casino to leave that bet in position until the bet either wins when the shooter repeats the point number or loses if the shooter rolls a seven first and "sevens out." The pass line is favored to win on a come-out roll as there are 8 combinations of dice producing a 7 or 11 which are instant winners for the bet versus only 4 combinations of craps numbers of 2, 3 or 12, which are losing numbers for a pass line bet on a come-out roll. With 8 ways of winning versus only 4 ways of losing on a come-out roll, the pass line wager is favored to win 2 to 1 over losing. However, once a point has been established, the pass line wager suffers a tremendous disadvantage. If the point is a 6 or 8 the pass line wager is at a 16.67% disadvantage to the house. With a point of 5 or 9, the disadvantage increases to 33.33% and with a 4 or 10; the pass line bet gives up 50% to the house. Don't Pass Bets 78

79 Don't pass wagers, also called back line or don't bets are the basic bets made by wrong bettors, those bettors who are betting that a 7 will be rolled before the shooter makes his point number. The bets are made by placing chips in the area marked Don't Pass or Don't Win in casinos using the Las Vegas style layout. In Northern Nevada casinos in Lake Tahoe and Reno, the don't pass and don't come line are combined and located just below the come line. To make a don t pass bet here, just place your wager in the combined don't pass don't come line. In a private craps game, the wager gives the player a favorable percentage of 1.414%. In bank craps, the casino bars either the two sixes or two aces on the come-out roll. When the barred combination appears on that roll, it is a standoff; there is no action for the wrong bettor. With either the 2 or 12 win barred, the don't pass wager gives the house an edge of 1.402%. The wager pays even money, that is, 1 to 1 for a win. Don't pass wagers are much less common that pass line bets. At a typical craps table, you will see one or two wrong bettors, with the remaining players making pass line bets. A don't pass wager wins on a come-out roll if a 2 or 3 is rolled if the 12 is barred or on a 3 or 12 if the 2 is barred. If the casino bars the 3, don't play there, they are taking advantage of you. If a 7 or 11 is rolled on a come-out, the bet loses. If any other number is rolled (4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10), that number becomes the shooter's point. If the shooter rolls a 7 before repeating the point number, the wager wins. If the shooter repeats the point number before a 7 is rolled, the bet loses. A don't pass wager is at its greatest disadvantage on the come-out roll. There are 8 ways in which a 7 or 11 can be rolled for a loss, and only 3 ways a 2 or 3 can be rolled for a win. Thus, on a come-out roll, the don't bettor faces 8 chances of losing versus 3 opportunities of winning. 79

80 Like pass line bets, once a point is established, no numbers other than the point number or 7 can affect the wager. Unlike pass line wagers which are contract bets and must be left up after a point is established, don't pass bets are not contract bets. The player can cancel, reduce or take down the bet anytime after a point has been established. However, you should never take down a don't pass wager once it is established. When you make a don't pass wager, you face horrific odds against you on the come-out roll. Once the point is established you have the casino in a corner as your bet is heavily favored to win. Many bettors will ask the dealers to take down their don't pass bets if the point is a 6 or 8 as these numbers are the easiest numbers to roll next to a 7. If you do, this you are making a big mistake as your no-6 or no-8 has a 6 to 5 advantage over the house for a 16.67% edge. A point of 5 or 9 gives you a 33.33% edge, while with a point of 4 or 10, your don't pass wager has a 50.00% edge over the house. The moral of this should be simple. Don't ever take an established don't pass or don't come bet down. Don't pass bets are not nearly as popular as pass line bets even though they have slightly lower vig, short for vigorish, than the front line bets. Looking at the don't pass betting area on the craps layout you will notice that the area marked "Don't Pass Bar 12" is much smaller than the area for pass line wagers. The reason for this difference in size is easy to fathom whenever you play craps. There are hardly any players making don't pass wagers. Usually the most don't or wrong bettors you will see at a table will be one or two. I can recall one craps session at the Las Vegas Hilton in The particular system I was using called for betting only from the don't side, and I had been holding my own, neither winning nor losing for about an hour. I was about ready to quit when several players sevened out in quick succession. I started to accumulate some decent winnings so I decided to play a little longer. I watched, as shooter after shooter would establish a point, roll one or two numbers and then seven out. I concentrated on strictly making don't pass wager and laying odds and was winning almost every wager. The dice passed completely around the table with no passes made. Normally a table this cold will drive all of the right betters those making pass line and numbers bets off. However, I noticed that the 80

81 players, instead of leaving were switching to making don't pass wagers. At this point, about half the table had switched to the dark side. The dice continued around the table. A few disgruntled right bettors left, but amazingly most of the players just sort of shrugged their shoulders and switched to betting wrong. This was highly unusual behavior, as most players will pick one playing style or the other and would rather fight than switch. Finally, at one memorable point, every player at the table was betting wrong and actually cheering for the seven to appear. We grew quite noisy, cheering for the sevens. Most wrong bettors never cheer when they win, fearing the wrath of the 90% of the players who bet right. Our cheering started to attract attention as a noisy craps table is usually the sign of a hot table where a the shooter is having a good roll. Here we were acting in a manner hardly any craps player had ever seen. Every player at the table would take his turn shooting with his inevitable seven out followed by hollering and high fives all around. A new player arrived, undoubtedly attracted by our noise. He bought in for five hundred bucks not even glancing at the bets on the table. The shooter sevened out accompanied by the usual yelping. He made a $25 pass line and then surveyed the table. Every other wager at the table was on the don't pass, and several of the other players were grinning at him. He cursed us all, picked up his wager and left, shaking his head and muttering. Finally one shooter made a pass, followed by groans all around. A couple of our wrong betting group moved their wagers over to the pass line. I counted up my chips. I have never made as much betting wrong in as long a time period as I did on that one table. I knew that this once in a lifetime period of almost an hour of nothing but seven outs was over, and I colored up my chips (had the dealer exchange my smaller denomination chips for larger ones prior to leaving the table) and cashed in. 81

82 Come Bets Many players are confused about come bets, as the name of the wager doesn't really tell them anything about the wager. The difference between a come bet and a pass line wager is only in the timing of the bets. Pass line wagers are made on a come-out roll before a shooter has established a point. Come bets are made after a point has been established. Come bets win or lose exactly like pass line wagers. If a natural of 7 or 11 shows on the first roll of a come bet, the bet wins. If a craps number of 2, 3 or 12 is rolled on the first roll, the bet loses. If any other number appears, that becomes the point number for that come bet. To make a come bet, just place the chips for that wager in the large come line area. Place the chips in the portion of the box nearest to you. That way the dealer will know that it is your bet. If a number affecting the come bet on its come-out roll shows, the dealer will either pay the bet off immediately, if it is a winning bet, or remove the chips for a losing wager. Let's say a 7 or 11 is rolled. The dealer will pay off the winning come wager by placing chips equal to your original wager adjacent to it. It is up to you to pick up your winnings. Most come bettors treat a winning come bet as a bonus win and immediately pick up their winnings, leaving just the chips representing the amount of the original come bet in the come line area. If a craps number of 2, 3 or 12 is rolled when the come bet is on its come-out roll, the dealer will remove the losing wager, and you must replace it if you want to have a come bet up. 82

83 Whenever a point number is rolled when the come bet is in the come line, the dealer will move the come bet to the come point-box representing the number rolled. That number becomes the come-point number for that particular come bet. Assume that the shooter's pass line number is a 4. If you choose to have another number working besides the pass line wager, you could make a come bet. If the next roll is a 6, you'll be rooting for two numbers to show before the 7. Either the 4 or the 6 will make you money. Of course if a 7 shows before either number, you will lose both bets. Yet another possibility is that one number might hit and the other lose. With craps there are always many combinations possible when playing individual numbers which is one of the reasons the game is so intriguing. While you can only have one pass line wager working at a time, you can, if you chose, have all six of the point numbers covered by come bets with an additional come wager waiting in the come box, for a total of seven come bets wagered at one time. Whenever a come bet wins, the dealer will move the original come wager, plus any odds bet made with the come bet, along with the winnings, back to the come box directly in front of the player. It is your job to watch your own come bets. Come bets are placed inside the front part of the point number box for its come point, at a spot roughly corresponding to your position at the table. When you make a come bet and the dealer moves it to a come pointbox, watch where he places it and remember this position. The come bet is positioned according your position at the table. Each additional come bet you make will be placed in the same relative position in additional boxes covered by come bets. Once you know where the dealer is placing your wagers, you can look at the table at any time and tell exactly where your wagers are. I have seen many craps players who lose track of their own wagers and don't even realize when they have a winning wager. Dealers will do everything they can to pay off your wagers correctly; however, many dealers make mistakes, and I have had my winnings 83

84 grabbed more than once by another player which I instantly brought to the player's attention. However, if I had not been attentive, I might have lost the chips. You simply must stay on top of your own wagers. After you have played for awhile, keeping track of your bets will become second nature to you. Sometimes in the heat of a frenzied game your dealer may lose track of who a come bet belongs to. If the dealer points to your come bet and asks "Whose bet is this?" by all means speak up. If you have a new come bet waiting in the come box for a number to be established, and in addition you have come bets already up on the box numbers, you may have one of your established wagers win while your new wager is waiting in the come box. In this case, the dealer will simply place your winnings from the first come bet next to your new come bet and announce that your bet is off and on. Normally a dealer would remove a winning come bet and any odds from the number box and place the wagers, plus any winnings in the come box. Any new come bets would be moved to the appropriate box number. In this case, since you had a winning come wager coming back to you and a new one moving to the same box, he used a shortcut and simply placed your winnings next to your new come bet as the bet went off and on. If this happens while you are playing, and you don't want to make another come bet, just pick up the chips left in the come box after the bet goes off and on. Like a pass line wager, once a come bet has survived its come-out roll and has been moved to a box number, you cannot take it back or take it down. This bet is a contract bet. It must remain in place until either the box number is rolled, for a win, or a seven shows and the bet loses. Odds can be taken with come bets just like pass line wagers. The odds payoffs are exactly the same for both pass line and come bets. Because many players believe that sevens are more likely to show on come-out rolls, the house bows to this superstition and the odds taken with come bets are automatically off on come-out rolls unless that player tells the dealer that he wants his odds 84

85 working on the come-out. This accommodation is provided by the house so that when a shooter rolls come-out sevens, only the come bets lose. Don't Come Bets Don't come bets win or lose exactly like don't pass wagers. They are to come bets as don't pass bets are to pass line wagers. A don't come bet differs from a don't pass bet only in its timing. Don't pass wagers are made before a shooter's come-out roll, while don't come bets are made after a point is established. In casinos using the Las Vegas Layout, don't come bets are made by placing chips in the area of the craps layout labeled Don't Come. For casinos using the Northern Nevada Layout, don't come bets are placed in the combined Don't Pass Don't Come Line. A don't come wager will win on if a 2 or 3 is rolled on its come-out roll with a push on either a 12 if the 12 is barred, or a 2 if the 2 is barred. The bet will lose if a 7 or 11 is rolled on the come-out. Using either the Las Vegas or Northern Nevada layout, after a point has been established for that wager, the dealer will move a don't come bet inside the back part of the box for the point number. Let's say you have a pass line bet on the 8 and make a don't come wager which is moved to the back line point-box for the number 4. If a 7 is rolled, you will win the don't come bet on the number 4, since this bet wins if a 7 is rolled before a 4. However, you will lose the pass line. If the shooter makes his point of 8, your don't come bet will not be affected. Only its point number of 4 or the appearance of a 7 will affect this bet. The shooter could very well make his point of 8, giving you a pass line win and then promptly roll a 7, giving you a win on the don't come bet. The bets pay even money for wins. Pass line and come bets are contract bets and must be left up once made, as these wagers enjoy a temporary advantage on come-out rolls, and the house will not allow you to make these wagers only on come-outs. Once you make the bet, you are stuck with waiting to see if the shooter can repeat the number. 85

86 Don't pass and don't come wagers are not contract bets and may be pulled or reduced after come-out rolls, as the player has the house at an overwhelming disadvantage once the bets are up. However, anyone who pulls an established don't pass or don't come wager, is making the single most foolish move in craps. Odds Bets Odds bets are the only wagers in craps where the house has no advantage over the player. But there's a catch. The odds wagers can only be made in conjunction with pass line and come bets for right bettors or with don't pass or don't come bets for wrong bettors. Because the odds bet must be coupled with another wager, the odds bet only reduces the house advantage over a particular wager. Remember that there is no free lunch in craps. With pass line and come bets, as well as don't pass and don't come bets, the odds bets are made only after a point is established. The house will define the size of the odds bets which may be made by allowing single odds, double odds, five times odds or some such multiple. These multiples define how large the odds bets may be in relation to the original wagers. For pass line wagers, odds bets are made by placing the chips representing the wager directly behind the pass line wager. For don't pass wagers made using the Las Vegas Layout, the chips are placed next to the don't pass bet in the don't pass betting area. With come and don't come bets, as well as don't pass wagers made where the Northern Nevada Layout is used, the dealer must place the odds bet. To make an odds bet, lay your wager on the table and tell the dealer what you want, as in "Odds on my come bet on the 6, please." After you have taken or laid odds a couple of times, most dealers will know what you want when you place the chips on the table. Odds bets may be pulled down or called "off" at any time, at the player's discretion. If the odds are taken or laid in conjunction with a come or don't come wager, you will have to have the dealer's assistance. Odds bets taken with pass line or come bets are automatically off on come-out rolls for pass line and come bets unless you instruct the 86

87 dealer otherwise. Odds bets made in conjunction with don't pass or don't come wagers are laid rather than taken and are always working unless you take them down or tell the dealers that your odds bets are off. Odds bets pay in exactly the same proportion to the point number as the number's chance of being made as compared to a 7 being rolled first. The following are the odds payoffs for odds taken on pass line or come bets: Number Odds Payoff 4 or 10 2 to 1 5 or 9 3 to 2 6 or 8 6 to 5 These payoffs are determined mathematically by comparing the number of ways a number can be made as compared to the number of ways a 7 can be rolled. Since there are only three ways a 4 or 10 can be made, compared to six ways a 7 can be rolled, the odds of rolling a 4 or 10 before a 7 are 6 to 3, which reduces to 2 to 1. With four ways of rolling a 5 or 9, compared to six ways of rolling a 7, the odds are 6 to 4 or 3 to 2. With five ways of making a 6 or 8, the odds of rolling either of these numbers before a 7 are 6 to 5. When single odds are taken, the wagers should conform to the following rules: 1. Odds taken on 4 or 10 are always the same or less than the pass line wager. If $5 is wagered on the pass line, with 10 as the point, the odds wager will be $5 or less. 2. Odds taken on 5 or 9 are always for an even amount. If $5 is wagered on the pass line, with 5 as the point, the odds wager should be for $4 or $6, so that the wager, which pays off at 3 to 2, may be paid off correctly. 87

88 3. Odds taken on 6 or 8 are always in increments of five units, dependent on the betting unit the player is using. In most casinos offering single odds, a $3 pass line wager with 6 or 8 as the point may take $5 odds. Using the same reasoning, when a casino allows five unit odds bets to be taken with a three unit wager, a $15 pass line wager may take $25 for odds ($5 is the basic betting here) when 6 or 8 is the point. A $75 pass line wager may have $125 taken as odds with a point of 6 or 8. In general, casinos offering single odds allow players with three unit wagers to round the odds portion of the bet up to the nearest five units, when the point is 6 or 8. For example, assume you make a $5 pass line wager and the shooter's point is 5. If you take $6 for odds, your total wager will be for $11, consisting of a $5 pass line wager, and $6 in odds. If the shooter repeats the point number before a 7 is rolled, you will be paid $14 in winnings, consisting of $5 for the even money pass line bet, and $9 on the $6 odds wager. Of course, your original wager of $11 will be returned, so you will receive a total of $25 for the $11 wager. When double odds are allowed, a player with a pass line or come bet can make an odds bet up to double the amount of the flat-bet. The points of 6 and 8 can usually take two and a half times the flat-bet. For example, a $10 bet on the 6 can take $25 as odds. If you are not sure how much odds you can take, you can always ask the dealer. Odds can be working, off and down. Working odds mean the bet is a bet in progress and can win or lose on the next roll. An "off" bet means the bet is not active. If you want your odds bet to be off for the next roll or two, just tell the dealer, "My odds on the come bets are off." Many players will call their come odds off and remove their pass line odds after certain craps events occur such as one of the die flying off the table. If you want your odds bets returned, just ask the dealer "Can I have my odds down?" The term "down" tells the dealer that the player wants the bet returned to him. The dealer will physically take the bet(s) down and set the chips on the layout in front of the player. Please remember that even though odds bets are not contract bets and can be take down at any time, pass line and come bets will always work and can never be take 88

89 down. The player cannot pick up these bets until they win. If they lose, the dealer will pick them up. With wrong bets, odds must be laid rather than taken. Since the 7 is more likely to be rolled than any point number, the player must lay more odds than the payoff for a winning wager. Odds are laid as follows: Number Odds Payoff 4 or 10 1 to 2 5 or 9 2 to 3 6 or 8 5 to 6 Odds should be laid so that the correct payoffs can be made. When single odds are laid, the wagers comply with the following rules: 1. Odds laid against a 4 or 10 can be as much as double the size of the original wager. If $5 is wagered on don't pass, odds of $10 or some lesser even amount may be laid. 2. Odds laid against a 5 or 9 should be divisible by three. Here you will lay three units to win two. With a $5 don't pass wager, odds of $9, $6 or $3 can be laid. 3. Odds laid against a 6 or 8 should be divisible by six. Here you will lay six units to win five. With a $5 don't pass wager, odds of $6 can be laid to win $5. With a $3 don't pass wager, the house will still allow you to lay $6 odds. With a $15 don't wager, you may lay $30 to win $25. If you take odds in an amount less than the casino minimum, to pay off the bet correctly, you will not be paid the correct amount for the odds wager. A common error is for a player with a $5 pass line bet to take odds of $5 when the point is five or nine. Where single odds are allowed, the correct odds bet would be for $6. You could even take odds of 89

90 $4 or even $2 for your wager and be paid off correctly. Just remember that when the point is 5 or 9 the odds bet must be for an even dollar amount. While the right bettor has the option of taking odds and being paid more than even money on the odds bet if he wins, the wrong bettor must lay odds, putting up more money for the odds wager than he can win. This is a major reason that many craps players do not like betting on the wrong side. The idea of betting more money than they can win is not nearly as attractive as winning more than they wager. When you lay odds, you are betting that a 7 will show before the point number. The point number can either be the shooter's point, if you have a don't pass wager, or a don't come point if you made that wager. Since the 7 is the easiest number to roll, the person laying odds will always have the better of this wager. Therefore, when you want to make an odds bet in conjunction with either a don't pass or don't come bet, you must put up more money than you win. The proportions are shown in the previous table. time. Lay odds are not contract bets, and they may be taken down or called off at any Let's assume that you have a $5 don't pass wager and you want to lay odds. If the shooter's point is a 6 or 8, you will lay $6 to win $5. With a point of 5 or 9, the lay is $9 to win $6. Against a point number of 4 or 10, you must lay $10 in an attempt to win $5. Let's try another example. Assume you are playing at a double odds table. You bet don't pass and your point becomes a 10. Your money would be brought up behind the 10 on the Northern Nevada Layout. On a Las Vegas Layout, your bet would remain in the Don't Pass line. If you have a $10.00 bet, you could lay as much as $ Here's how you figure this out. Since a pass line bettor can take $20.00 odds with a $10.00 pass line bet, which if won would pay 2 to 1 for a $40.00 win on the odds bet, then a don't pass bettor can lay $40.00 to win $20.00 on the odds portion of the bet. 90

91 If the point is 5 or 9 with a $10.00 don't pass bet, you can lay $30.00 to win $ With a point of 6 or 8 you can lay $24.00 to win $ However, these are only the maximum amounts you can lay in a double odds game. You can always choose to lay a lesser amount or forego laying odds at all. Many smart wrong bettors never lay odds. They reason that once a wrong bet has survived the come-out roll when it is at a terrific disadvantage, the odds swing overwhelmingly in favor of the wrong bet winning. Why dilute a strong wager by laying odds that pay less than 1 to 1? Assume a wrong bettor bets $10 on don't pass and the shooter's point is 9. His don't pass wager is now favored to win by 3 to 2. If he lays against the point taking an odds wager of $15 to win $10, he will have wagered $25 to win $20, diluting his advantage from 3 to 2 to 5 to 4. On a decimal basis, he would have reduced his edge over the house from 33% to 20%. Place Bets Place bets are some of the most popular bets in bank craps. The point numbers can be played by making pass line wagers, which give the player the opportunity to bet on one number. Come bets allow the player to wager on multiple numbers. Place bets also allow the player to bet on multiple box or point numbers. A place bet is a wager on any of the point or box numbers of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10. It can be made at any time between any rolls. A place bet can be called off (not working) or on (working) at any time. These bets are not contract bets. Unlike a come bet, a place bet can go directly to a specific number. Place bets win if the place bet number shows before a 7 and lose when a 7 is rolled. Place bets are made by setting chips on the table for the wager, usually outside of the layout, or in some casinos in the come line betting area, and telling the dealer the numbers you want to "Place." Place numbers are located on the front and rear portions of the come point-boxes. You can tell which bets are place bets and which are come bets by observing their positions in the point boxes. Come bets are placed inside the box while 91

92 place bets are grouped on the front and rear outside lines of the box. Some casinos have a separate place bet area between the front and rear portions of the point box. Players may increase, decrease or take down their place bets at any time. Place bets are automatically off on come-out rolls, unless you tell the dealer that you want the wagers working on come-outs. Once a point is established and you call a place bet "off," many casinos allow the bet to be off a maximum of three rolls before the bet must be taken down. If you have several place bets, you cannot call just one or two of them off. They are either all on or all off. If you want certain bets off, with others left working, you can ask the dealer to take down the bets you want off. Place bets are often pressed after a win. A pressed bet is usually doubled. For instance, if you win a $12 place 6 bet and you press it, the dealer will return $2 of the winnings to you and add $12 of the winnings to the bet. If you want to press it by only $6.00, tell the dealer "Press my 6 by $6." Place bets differ from come bets in a number of ways. They win or lose in basically the same way: the number on which you have wagered must show before a 7 is made. The differences between come and place bets are: 1. For a come bet to win, the number must be repeated. A come bet which has 6 as a point can only win if the 6 is repeated before a 7. With place bets, a 6 needs to be made only one time for the bet to win. 2. Come bets are always working, even on come-out rolls. Place bets are automatically off on come-outs unless the player stipulates otherwise. 3. The player may pull place bets at any time. Come bets, as contract bets, must stay in place until they are either won or lost. The flexibility of place bets attracts many players. Place bets may be made and pulled after a couple of wins. With come bets, once the bet is established, the player must wait for a decision. Many times a hot shooter will make his point and then roll a 7 on a 92

93 come-out roll. The place bets are safe as they are automatically off on the roll, but the come bets will all go down with the appearance of a 7. The come bettor must start all over in establishing his bets, while the place bettor will have his bets in place with the first roll after the come-out. Place bets pay off at less than true odds. The next table shows the correct odds for payoffs on the point numbers, the place bet payoffs, and the house edge on each wager. Place bets should always be made in multiples of five units for bets on 4, 5, 9 or 10, and six units on wagers made on 6 or 8. In quarter craps, where a twenty five-cent chip is the basic chip, the minimum place bets are $1.25 (five chips) on 4, 5, 9 or 10, and $1.50 (six chips) on 6 or 8. If you are a five dollar bettor, you will make place bets in multiples of $5 chips, as in $5, $10, $15, $25 and so on. PLACE BET ODDS AND PAYOFFS Place Number Correct Odds versus a 7 Casino Payoff on Place Bet Casino Advantage 4 or 10 2 to 1 9 to % 5 or 9 3 to 2 7 to % 6 or 8 6 to 5 7 to % To make a place bet, you must tell the dealer what you want to do as the dealer handles the chips used for place bets. After you set your chips for the wager on the table, the dealer will place your wagers on the front outside border of a number's box or the back border of the box, depending on your location at the table. If you are making a place bet on the six, your bet will be placed on the outer or inner edge of the box for the number six in a position roughly equivalent to your position at the craps table. When the dealer places your wager, you should note the position of your wager so that you can keep track of all of your place bets. 93

94 Many place bettors like to cover all of the numbers as soon as a point is established. A $5 pass line bettor might decide to place all of the numbers except for the shooter's point. When the point is 6 or 8, the player might say to the dealer "26 across" which in craps parlance tells the dealer to place every number except the shooter's point as follows: $5 on the 10 $5 on the 9 $6 on the 8 $5 on the 5 $5 on the 4 for a total of $26. Because of the high vig or house edge on the numbers 4 and 10 (the house edge is 6.67%), some players like to bet only on the inside numbers. For example, with a point of 4, the player might tell the dealer, "22 inside" and lay down $22 in chips. The dealer would know that the player wants to play the inside box numbers as follows: $5 on the 5 $6 on the 6 $6 on the 8 $5 on the 9 for a total of $22. Because all of the place bets lose if a 7 is rolled, the house rule is that place bets are off on come-out rolls. This rule enables the right bettor to win pass line wagers on comeouts without losing his place bets. Also, place bets may be taken down or called off at any time, while come bets, once made, cannot be taken down and are always working, even on come-out rolls. The house advantage over place bets is larger than on come bets. The odds against a 4 or 10 can be reduced somewhat by buying these wagers instead of placing them (more on this later). However, place bets are much more flexible than come bets. 94

95 Let's summarize the main differences between place bets and come bets: 1. Place bets are automatically off on come-out rolls; whereas, come bets are always working. 2. Place bets are "complete" bets in and of themselves and no odds may be taken. 3. For a come bet to win, the number must be repeated before the shooter rolls a seven. A Place bet on the same number will be paid the first time the number is rolled. 4. The player can increase the size of his place bets, reduce their size, or call the bets off anytime he wants. Come bets are contract bets with the casino, and once made, they must stay in place until they win or lose. The only option the player has with a come bet is with odds taken with a come bet. The player can take down odds at any time, or call them off for even a single roll. In addition, odds bets are automatically off on come-out rolls unless the dealer is instructed that "my odds bets work on come-outs." 5. The house advantage over place bets is greater than for come bets, especially if odds are taken with the come bets. 6. Place bets should be made in multiples of five chips on the 4, 5, 9 and 10 and multiples of 6 on the 6 and 8 in order for the payoffs to be made correctly. At nearly any craps table you will usually see several right bettors making place bets. After a point is established, many place bettors like to cover all of the box numbers or at least the inside numbers, excluding the shooter's point, which they have covered with their pass, line wagers. Many place bettors will only place the six and eight as the vig on these numbers is only 1.51%, about the same as a pass line or don't pass wager. 95

96 The greatest problem with place betting is that for a player covering all of the numbers, usually with a pass line wager with single or double odds and place bets covering the five remaining numbers, the shooter must win on four of his place bets before a seven shows to have a profit from the place bets. Too many times the shooter will only roll one or two numbers before sevening out, and the place bettor will lose most of the money bet. Of all the right bettors at the craps table, the place bettor who covers all or most of the numbers with place bets is most vulnerable to a seven being rolled. If the seven is rolled on the next roll after the point is established, the place bettor will lose his pass line wager, the odds bets taken with the pass line bet and every place bet. For a $5 bettor taking single odds, this loss would be $36 in one roll of the dice! I have played many times with high rollers who signed $10,000 markers. Typically they will start betting with $100 or even $500 chips covering all of the numbers. On many occasions I have watched them lose all of the buy-in in less than fifteen minutes. The key to successful place betting is to limit the number of numbers placed and to be careful about when to make the place bets. The Take Down System advocates placing the inside numbers of 5, 6 8 and 9 only at certain times using predetermined betting guidelines. However, most place bettors do not limit their betting. After covering the numbers, they will press or double their wagers for any winning place bets. They must believe that a seven will never show, for when it does, it will wipe out most, if not all, of their winnings. I will show you how to play a hot roll when we discuss betting strategies. But you can be sure that covering all of the box numbers with place bets and pressing each winning bet is not the way to beat the craps game. Incidentally, call bets are not accepted by dealers on place bets or any other bets unless your cash in on the table. Old time dealers remember a scam which was used at 25 craps tables. A player would call out "six fifty across" just before the dice left the shooter's hand. If the dealer accepted the wager, the player calling the bet would wait for the 96

97 outcome. If a place number hit, he would hand the dealer $650 and collect his winning wager. If the toss was a loser, he would hand $6.50 to the dealer to cover the losing bet. This type of scam is possible at the 25 tables, as the minimum place bets are $1.25 on the 4, 5, 9 and 10 and $1.50 on the six and eight. If the bet lost, the player would simply bet the minimum amounts. Most dealers are wise to this trick and will not accept call bets unless your money is on the table. Put Bets Put bets can be made on any box number of 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 or 10 at any time. These bets are considered a flat-bet on the particular number. They are put in the come point-box of numbers after they are bet or on the pass line if the number is the pass line point. Put bets can take odds up to the amounts allowed for the flat-bet. Often put bets are unknowingly made by inexperienced players. If a player throws a five-dollar chip down and says "Gimme a five," the dealer very well may "put" the bet. This is especially true for off beat amounts, like a $5 bet on a 6 or 8 (place bets on the 6 or 8 should be in multiples of $6). Odds can be added to a put bet, but often the same money placed will pay better. Assume that a player puts a bet on a 5 and decides to take $6 odds. If he wins the bet, he will win $5 on the flat-bet and $9 on the odds for a total of $14. However, if he had placed the bet for $10, a dollar less than the put bet with odds, he would still have won $14. Would you rather risk $11 to win $14 or $10 to win $14? Place bets will almost always pay better than put bets with odds. There is a place for put bets. Assume that you are playing in a house that offers double odds. You made a $5 pass line bet and the point is 6. You would like to take maximum odds on the wager which would be $10. However, most casinos would let you "put" another $1 on the pass line wager for a total bet of $6. Now, you could wager $20.00 on the odds portion of the bet. 97

98 Most put bets are made by persons who don't understand how to make place bets. However, judicious use of put bets in connection with taking odds can sometimes improve your position as in the case on increasing a pass line or come wager enough to take better odds. Buy Bets Point numbers may also be bought. Like place bets, a buy bet is a wager on a specific number. These bets are not contract bets and may be called off or taken down at any time. The minimum buy bet is for $20.00 plus $1 commission. Buy bets pay off at correct odds, but you must pay the casino an amount equal to five percent of the wager in order to receive true odds. The effect of this commission paid to the casino is to give the house an edge of 4.76% over a buy bet. The normal house edge on a 4 or 10 placed is 6.67% so the buy bet is a relative bargain. Because the house vig is larger than any of the other place bets, only the 4 and 10 should ever be bought. The commission is called vigorish or "vig" for short and is the charge the house collects for offering true odds. The vig will be returned to you if you decide to take the bet down. However, if the bet wins or loses the house will keep the vig as its fee for offering you the chance to play at true odds. The vig will be collected each time you make a buy bet. Let's say you decide to buy the 10 for $40, giving the dealer $42 in chips to cover the $2 vig. Two rolls later the 10 is rolled. The dealer will place your $80.00 winnings in front of you and ask "Do you want to keep the bet up?" If you do, just place an additional two one-dollar chips on the layout and the dealer will leave your $40 buy-10 up, having collected an additional two bucks vig for the second wager. Isn't this the easiest $78.00 ($80.00 for the wager less $2 commission) you ever made? If your place bet on 4 or 10 is larger than twenty units on one number, or ten units each if both the 4 and 10 are placed, you should buy the numbers rather than placing them. With a $20 wager on one or both numbers, the casino will charge you a $1 vig for the privilege of buying the numbers. A $20 place bet on the 10 will pay off $36, while a buy bet on the same number will pay off $40, less the $1 commission, for a net $39. So long as 98

99 your combined wager on the 4 or 10 is at least twenty units (which is five bucks at twenty five-cent craps), the buy bet is a better deal than the place bet. Most casinos will let you buy a 4 or 10 for $25 and only charge you a $1 vig. If you must play these numbers, try to buy them for at least $25 and take advantage of the lower house edge. Lay Bets The lay bet is the opposite of a buy bet, and is used by wrong bettors who are wagering that a 7 will show before the number laid against. Lay bets are paid off at correct odds, but the bettor must pay the house a commission of 5% of the projected win to get this payoff. Because odds are laid instead of taken, lay bets always pay off less then even money. These wagers are not contract bets and may be increased, decreased or taken down at any time. The bets are based on the size of the minimum payoff. The minimum payoff for a lay bet is $ To lay behind the 4 or 10, the minimum lay bet is $40.00 plus $1.00 vig for a total of $ The $1 vig is computed on the possible winning of the bet. A $40 lay against a 4 or 10 would pay a player $20.00 winnings plus return of the bet of $40.00 for a total of $60.00 less the $1 vig. Laying no-4s or no-10s can be quite profitable at times. If you find a very cold craps table where the shooters seven out after a couple of rolls, then laying odds against either the 4 or 10 can be very profitable. To lay against the 5 or 9 you would invest $31.00, consisting of a $30.00 wager plus the $1.00 vig. If a 7 shows before your number, you will win $20.00 less the $1 vig. To lay against a 6 or 8, give the dealer a minimum of $25.00, comprised of a $24.00 bet and $1.00 vig. A win here will pay you $20.00 less the $1.00 vig. 99

100 Lay bets are placed in the rear of the point-boxes with buy buttons on top. A winning lay bet will be paid on the don't pass line on the Las Vegas Layout and on the don't pass/don't come line with the Northern Nevada Layout. Payoffs will then be moved in front of the player to pick up. If you want to keep a winning lay bet up, tell the dealer, "Keep me up on my no-4," and place the amount of vig on the table. Lay bets may be made at any time and normally work on come-out rolls unless called off. They are made by placing your chips on the table, along with the required commission and telling the dealer what you want to do as in "$40 no-4," while placing $41.00 on the table." Big 6 and 8 Bets Big 6 and Big 8 bets are prominently marked on the craps layout. These bets can be made at any time. Like the place bets, with these wagers you are betting that the number you bet on, either 6 or 8 or both, will repeat before a 7 shows on the dice. If it doesn't show before a 7, you lose your bet. If a 6 or 8 (whatever you bet on) is rolled before a 7, you win your bet. Players make these bets and it is not necessary for the dealer to book them. For this reason, many novices like the bets because they don't know how to place the same numbers, which entails having the dealer handle the bets. These wagers usually pay off at even money. With an even money payoff, instead of the correct odds of 6 to 5, the wager gives the house a 9.09% advantage. In Atlantic City casinos, the bet pays off at 7 to 6, the same as placing the 6 or 8. Some players play the Big 6 and Big 8 at $1 or $2 minimum tables and wager less than the $6 required to make a place bet on 6 or 8. Wagers on the Big 6 and Big 8 cannot be split between the two numbers like a split wager made at roulette. In other words, if a player wants a bet on each number he must place a wager in each betting box. Players should track their own Big 6 and 8 wagers which should be easy as the bets are seldom made by most craps players. 100

101 My advice is to never make these bets, except where the wagers are paid off the same as place bets. If you are short of bankroll and want to bet on the 6 and 8, you should find a twenty five-cent craps table, where the 6 and 8 can be placed for $1.50 each. Field Bets Players make their own bets in the field by placing their wagers in the large rectangular shaped box at each end of the craps table. Field bets are one roll bets that one of the numbers shown in the field, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 or 12 will show on the next roll. Seven out of the possible eleven dice numbers are in the field, which makes the wager look like a good one to many players. Field bets lose if a 5, 6, 7 or 8 shows on the next roll. While it looks like there are many more numbers paying off than losing on a field bet, there are only 16 ways for the dice to show for a winning field number compared to 20 ways which will cause the wager to lose. The field bet is paid off slightly differently in downtown Las Vegas and in Northern Nevada. In downtown Las Vegas, the casinos usually pay off a 2 at 2 to 1 and a 12 at 3 to 1. In Northern Nevada, most casinos pay triple on a 12 and double on a 2. In either case, field numbers other than 2 or 12 are paid at even money. When either the 2 or 12 is paid at 3 to 1, the house edge is 2.77%. Players are responsible for making and keeping track of their own bets. Many players new to the craps game like to play the field bets since they can make their own wagers without involvement of a dealer. However, it is not unusual for players to sometimes forget that they have a bet in the field. These orphaned bets are called sleeper bets and if left unclaimed will be appropriated by the house and returned to the casino's side of the table. Most casinos pay 2 to 1 on either a 2 or 12, and even money on any other field number. With these payoffs, the house advantage is 5.56%. In either case, the house edge is too high for field bets to offer much interest to those who want to win at craps. 101

102 Proposition Bets We now come to the center of the table, where bets are placed and paid off by the stickman. These are all one roll bets except for the hardways. All of the wagers pay off at high odds for the players and include wagers on specific numbers such as 2, 3, 7, 11 or 12. You can wager on single numbers, or groups of numbers such as Any Craps and the Horn Bet. Players sometimes cover two bets with one chip as long as they are next to each other on the layout. These are called split bets. Hardway bets cannot be bet this way. However, you can make a split bet on Any Craps and Eleven (called C & E), the High-Low (2 and 12). There may be other split proposition bets depending on the casino's layout. A split bet is really two bets. Consider a $2 C & E bet. The Any Craps bet pays 7 to 1 and the eleven pays 15 to 1. If the eleven shows on the next roll, you will be paid $14.00 and not $ All casinos will keep your prop bets up and working after wins unless you ask to take them down. The $14.00 payoff has been reduced by $1.00 so that the losing $1.00 Any Craps bet can be put back up. If you call the bet "down" you will receive $16.00 (the $14.00 payoff plus return of the $2.00 C & E bet). Hardway Bets A Hardway Bet is a bet on one of the even numbered point numbers of 4, 6, 8 or 10 that the number will be rolled as a pair, before either a 7 or the number rolled any other way shows. For example, if you bet the Hard 6, you are wagering that a 6 will be rolled as a 3-3 (a pair) before it is rolled as a 1-5, 5-1, 4-2, 2-4, or before a 7 is rolled. Rolling a number as a pair is referred to as the "hard way." If the number is rolled any other way, it is referred to as the "easy way" or rolling the number soft. Hardway bets can be made any time and stay up until they either win or lose. They may be called off on come-out rolls. Casinos usually pay 9 to 1 (usually shown as 10 for 1, which is the same payoff) on the Hard 6 or 8, and 7 to 1 (8 for 1) for the Hard 4 or 10. With hardway wagers on 6 or 8, the house edge is 9.09%. Hardway bets on the 4 or 10 give the house an 11.11% edge. 102

103 Many times players will make a hardway bet on the shooter's point. Assume that the shooter establishes 4 as his point. Players having pass line bets will be rooting for the 4 to show. Some will toss a chip or two to the stickman and make a wager on the 4 to show hard. You might toss the stickman a nickel chip ($5 chip) and say "$5 Hard 4." Two rolls later the shooter rolls a 3-1, making his point, but causing your hard 4 to lose because 4 showed the easy way. The same shooter sets up a 6 as his point after the next come-out and you toss the dealer another $5 chip saying, "I want a Hard 6." Two rolls later, the dice land 3 and 3 for a hard six. The dealer pays you $35, leaving your $5 wager up on the Hard 6. If you ask the stickman to take the bet down, you will receive $ Not bad for a couple of rolls work! While regular hardway bets stay up until they either win or lose or the player takes them down or calls them off, there is another type of hardway bet you can make which is a one-roll bet. If you want to bet that a hardway number shows on the next roll, you will be paid 30 to 1 if you win. This type of bet is called a hopping hardway. These bets have such high payoffs because they can only be rolled one way. Thus they have the same payoffs as a one-roll bet on a 2 or 12. If you want to make a bet that a 6 shows the hardway on the next roll, just toss the dealer your bet and tell him, "I want a hard 6 on the hop." Any Seven Any Seven, also called Big Red or sometimes a Skinny Doogan, is a one roll bet which pays off at 4 to 1 (5 for 1) if a 7 shows on the next roll. Since the correct odds of a 7 being rolled are 5 to 1, this wager gives the house an edge of 16.67%. Big Red is probably the rarest of the prop bets and it is very rarely played. If you are trying to make money off of the shooter rolling a 7, I prefer the lay bets, especially the no-4 or no-10 lay bet which gives you odds of two to one in your favor. 103

104 Any Craps The Any Craps wager is a one-roll bet that a craps number of 2, 3 or 12 will show on the next roll. The bet is paid off at 7 to 1 (8 for 1). Since craps numbers can be rolled only four ways out of thirty-six, the true odds on rolling a craps number are 8 to 1. The lower payoff gives the casino an advantage of 11.1% Many players like to hedge a pass line or come bet by telling the stickman, "Craps check for $!" If you have a $10 pass line, you might tell the stickman "$1.00 Any Craps." If a 2, 3 or 12 showed on the next roll, you would lose your pass line bet but be paid $7 with a $1 bet left up for the Any Craps bet. Betting the 2, 3, 11 or 12 These are all one-roll bets that win or lose depending on whether the number bet on appears on the next roll of the dice. The 2 or 12 can be rolled only one way, and the odds against rolling either of these numbers on the next roll are 35 to 1. The casinos usually pay these wagers at 29 to 1 (30 for 1), for a house edge of 16.67%. Some casinos pay these bets at 30 to 1, reducing the house edge to 13.89%. If a 2 and 12 are bet at the same time, the player may call out to the stickman, "High-low for $." The 12 is often called boxcars or midnight, while the 2 is called aces or snake eyes. The 3 or 11 can be rolled two ways each, and the correct odds against rolling either number on the next dice roll is 17 to 1. With typical payoffs of 14 to 1 (15 for 1), the house edge is 16.67%. With a payoff of 15 to 1, the house edge falls to 11.11%. 104

105 The 11 is a popular bet on come-out rolls and is often referred to as Yo as in yoleven. If you wanted to make a $5 bet that the 11 would show on the next roll, just toss a nickel chip to the stickman and call out, "$5 Yo, please." The house loves the action on any of these bets with the sucker-like odds in favor of the casino. Hopping Bets Hop Bets are not usually shown on the craps layout. They are bets that a particular number or a particular dice combination will show on the next roll. Numbers with one way of showing, such as a 3-3 or a 5-5, are usually paid at 30 to 1 (correct odds are 35 to 1). Wagers on numbers which can be made two ways, such as 5-4 or 2-3 are paid at 15 to 1, where the correct odds are 17 to 1. The hopping hardway bets all pay 30 to 1 or in some casinos, only 29 to 1, giving the house an edge of either 13.89% or 16.67%. Other combinations of bets can also be bet to show on the next roll, such as a "hopping 5-4," or a "3-1 on the hop," indicating that the player wants to wager the 9, in the form of a 5-4 combination, or that a 4, in a 3-1 combo, will show in the next roll. These hopping bets usually pay 15 to 1 giving the house an edge of 11.11%. Some casinos only pay 14 to 1 for these wagers, increasing the house edge to 16.67%. Since I seldom make these wagers I rarely bother to check the house payoffs on them, but they will usually be paid in the same proportions as the single roll bets on a 2 or 12 for the hopping hardways and a 3 or 11 for the other hopping bets. Horn Bets With this wager, the 2, 3, 11 and 12 are covered with one bet. At least four chips must be used for the wager. If any of these numbers show on the next roll, the casino will pay the usual payoff for that number, and keep the three losing chips. Most casinos pay 15 to 1 for the 3 and 11 and 30 to 1 for the 2 and 12. The vigorish for the 3 and 11 bets is 11.11%; for the 2 and 12 it is 13.89%. 105

106 Let's say you toss the stickman $4 and say, "$4 horn bet." The next roll is a 3 paying 15 to 1. However, the other three bets are lost. The stickman will pay you $12 ($15.00 won less $3.00 lost) so that the horn bet will stay up for the next roll. If you really want to impress the table instead of tossing four dollar-chips down, try throwing the stickman a nickel chip and say "Horn, high eleven." This means that $2 will be bet on the 11. If you are showing off for your girl friend, you have got to try this one. World or Whirl Bets You will seldom find this bet in the books on craps and I have heard it called both a world and a whirl bet, so I am not sure which is more correct. The bet is a horn bet with the fifth chip covering any seven. The theory behind the bet is that you cover every number that is not a point number. If your friend is not impressed with your "Horn, high eleven," try throwing a nickel chip to the stickman and proclaim, "$5 world bet." Just don't watch the boxman snicker, since you have just made one of the worst bets at the craps table. Three-Way Craps This is another of those exotic sounding one-roll bets. Imagine a horn bet without the 1. That's what a three-way craps bet is. Like a horn bet each bet is paid as a separate wager. Some players like this bet better than the any craps bet because it pays better if a 2 or 12 is thrown. But this wager also costs more because it must be made in amounts divisible by three. Two-Way Craps This is another cool sounding bet. It is a fancy way of making a bet for yourself and the dealer on the any craps wager. If you want to make it, just toss $2 to the stickman and tell him "Two-way craps." The boys (dealers) will appreciate the toke. C & E Bets 106

107 If you look back at the image of a craps table layout, you will see a bunch of connected circles with the letter C & E printed on them. The C & E stands for craps and eleven. The reason there are so many betting spots is that this bet is quite popular with players, especially on come-out rolls. It is a bet that can act as a hedge for either a front line player with chips in the pass line, or a back line bettor betting the don't pass. The bet is just what it sounds like - a bet covering any craps, paying 7 to 1 and the 11, paying 15 to 1. If a 2, 3, 11 or 12 shows on the next roll, the bet wins. It is like a condensed horn bet, requiring only two units instead of four. Most stickmen will also accept nickel C & E wagers. 107

108 CRAPS BETS, PAYOFFS AND CASINO ADVANTAGE Bet Payoff Casino Advantage Pass Line 1 to % Come 1 to % Don't Pass 1 to % Don't Come 1 to % Taking Odds Pass or Come 4 or 10 2 to 1 None 5 or 9 3 to 2 None 6 or 8 6 to 5 None Laying Odds Don't Pass or Don't Come 4 or 10 1 to 2 None 5 or 9 2 to 3 None 6 or 8 5 to 6 None Place Bets 4 or 10 9 to % 5 or 9 7 to % Bet Payoff Casino Advantage 6 or 8 7 to % Buy Bets 4 or 10 2 to % Lay Bets 4 or 10 1 to % 108

109 Bet Payoff Casino Advantage 5 or 9 2 to % 6 or 8 5 to % Big 6 and Big 8 1 to 1 6 to 5 (Atlantic City) 9.09% 1.52% Field With 2 and 12 paying 2 to 1 1 to 1 except 2 and % With 2 or 12 paying 3 to 1 Hardways 1 to 1 except 2 and % 4 or 10 7 to % Bet Payoff Casino Advantage 6 or 8 9 to % Any Craps 7 to % 2 or to 1 29 to 1 11 or to 1 14 to % 16.67% 11.11% 16.67% Horn Bet 2 or 12 3 or to 1 3 to % 109

110 The Casino's Point of View The first reason most gamblers would give for why casinos win more than they lose is the house edge. While most persons have no idea how a house edge is calculated, they vaguely know that somehow the casino has an edge over them. There is no question that the house edge is like an insurance policy the casinos carry, insuring them that if the mob of players play long enough the casino will grind out its inevitable win percentages. However, the casinos rely on a lot more than percentages to beat most players. Casinos are experts at creating the psychological triggers than give them a much bigger edge than the house edge. The Take Down System is a winning strategy which will help you win consistently at the craps game. But using it or any other winning strategy is still no guarantee that you will win. The casino's power and charms are formidable, and when you face the casino in a battle for its money, it will employ every resource at its disposal to relieve you of your money, hopefully in the most pleasant manner possible. The House Edge The house edge is the mathematical edge the casino has over most bets. This edge is gained by paying players less than the correct payoff for winning bets. There is a precise probability for each bet in a casino. If you were paid the mathematically correct payoff, in theory, the house would have no edge over you. 110

111 Let's take a look at roulette to illustrate how the house edge works. The American version of the game has thirty-eight numbers on a wheel: 1 to 36, plus 0 and 00. If you placed a bet on one of these numbers, you would be paid 35 to 1 for your winning bet. Does this sound right? Your probability or chance of winning is one in 38, which can also be expressed as 37 to 1. By only offering you 35 to 1 on a 37 to 1 risk, the casino is gaining an edge by reducing the amount it pays you for winnings. On an American wheel, the casino's edge is 5.26%. This means that on the average, you will lose $5.26 to the casino out of every $ wagered. The house edge is the casino's ultimate weapon to insure that in the long run it will have a profit. However, it is just insurance for the casinos. The majority of most casinos' winnings are created because the players find ways to beat themselves. The Casino Environment Casinos go out of their way to create attractive, appealing and often unique environments. No expense is spared to create an environment filled with hospitality and enough other attractions to rapidly put you in a daze. In addition to the constant racket created by the slot machines, you will see dazzling lights, custom designed carpets, and scantily clad cocktail waitresses who will bring you free drinks just for playing a game. You will see players with piles of chips in front of them enjoying extraordinary runs of luck. On top of all this, you are presented the charming prospect of making huge amounts of money in just a few turns of the card, spins of the wheel or rolls of the dice. When you walk through a casino, you will notice that there are usually no windows to the outside and no clocks visible. This is part of the illusion created for you. You have 111

112 entered a land where time doesn't matter, within its own protected cocoon, well insulated from the realities of the outside world. Casinos want you to be undistracted by outside influences when you are risking your money. Even more, they want you to become so beguiled by the games offered that you lose your sense of time and the money you are risking. Casino checks or chips help create part of this illusion, as they do not seem as real as currency. Casino wins don't seen quite real when they only consist of piles of chips. Losses can be shrugged off until you run out of chips. All of this is designed to trigger your compulsive nature. You may feel that in this timeless wonderland, lady luck is just waiting to bestow great sums of money on you. Many persons who travel to casinos find that they have trouble even sleeping while in a casino. They can't bear to think that they might miss out on all of the action happening on the casino floor. A few years ago, my aunt, who was nearing ninety at the time, visited Las Vegas with one of her grown children and his family. My cousin, Jim, had made sure that his mother was nice and secure in her room about 10:00 p.m. He went downstairs to play a little longer. After a very successful blackjack session he decided to have a midnight snack in the coffee shop and thought his mother might like to join him. He debated waking her, but finally decided to call her anyway - after all this was a vacation and normal rules did not have to apply. He got no answer when he called her room. He called his own room next and spoke to his wife, Ann, asking if she had seen his mother. But Aunt Angie was no where to be found. His anxious wife met him in the casino. They checked the coffee shop, thinking his mother might have decided to eat a snack. She wasn't there. They walked up and down numerous aisles between hundreds of slot machines looking for Aunt Angie. She seemed to have pulled off a very successful disappearing act. 112

113 They were getting ready to go back to their room and decide on their next course of action when Jim heard a familiar voice coming from the craps pit. "Gimme a big seven, come on baby. Great, now how about a yo-leven." They saw that Angie was rolling the bones at a crowded craps table. The players were two deep surrounding the table with bets stacked on almost every square inch of layout. Angie was on a hot roll and there was no holding her back. She almost seemed to be in a daze, calling for her favorite numbers. When the dice were passed back to her, she would swoop them up, shaking them vigorously in her right hand then releasing them in a graceful arc usually followed by screams of delight from the crowd as more bets were won. When Angie finally sevened-out, there was spontaneous applause from the entire table, and numerous green and black chips were tossed to her from the grateful winners. Jim walked up and asked if she would like to take a little break and celebrate. She responded with, "I'll take a break, but you're not getting me back in that room. I want to stay where the action is!" Unfortunately, not all players are as lucky as Aunt Angie. For most, the siren call of the games proves to be no more than one of the many tools the casinos expertly use to relieve the uninitiated of their money. Length of Games While many players can't wait to play against the casino, often extending their playing sessions way beyond what they might have intended, casinos have all the time in the world. Casino games move fast. Decision follows hurried decision. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, the games continue. This is another tool in the casino's arsenal of weapons. The casino has all the time in the world to play, but you don't. If you play long enough, sooner or later you are likely to engage in one of many player self destruction acts, like betting too large. 113

114 A friend of mine is an inveterate craps player. He loves craps, anywhere, anytime it is played. He is fairly good at beating the casinos for short stretches, but he nearly always loses and goes home a loser. How can that be? What happens to him is what happens to many players. They are able to get ahead at some point, but they will not stop playing. The siren call of the game is too strong. The casino bosses can afford to be patient. If they can just keep the player playing, the combination of player errors, player fatigue, foolish betting and other aspects of loss of control will cause the player to lose. Casinos know a lot about human frailty. Gambling can be a pressure cooker environment for most players with great highs followed by even greater lows. Meanwhile, the casino games continue 24/7, but, of course, they let their craps dealers take a twentyminute break every hour. They know how taxing the game can be. Do you? Player Compulsion The casino atmosphere and the adrenaline rush of gambling are tough opponents for any player to overcome. Players constantly have to fight the twin compulsions of greed and despair. If you have ever flown to Las Vegas on a plane loaded with passengers all heading to the gambling Mecca of the world, you will notice that the passengers' behavior is much different on the flight arriving than it is on the one returning home. On the flight coming into Vegas, passengers are revving up for a party. Nearly everyone is boisterous, drinking, talking too loudly or even pulling out cards and playing a few blackjack hands to warm up. As the plane nears its destination, you can almost feel the crowd enthusiasm rising until it has almost reached a fever pitch by the time the plane lands. The would-be players eagerly depart the plane, almost dashing to be the first to hear the sound of the slot machines residing in the lobby of McCarran International Airport. The return trips are always much different. What talking there is is subdued, almost like a whisper. Some passengers just close their eyes and press their heads back into the seat 114

115 cushions, while others quietly pull out the airline magazines and pretend to read. Many of the passengers are almost in a state of shell shock. They are recalling events of the past several days in crystal clarity and wondering how they could have acted they way they did. One man, who was up almost $5,000, is returning home with a loss of $3,000. He is still not quite sure what happened. Across the aisle is a lady sitting quietly thinking how she lost her Christmas money. She didn't mean to. Her original plan was to take the $800, win at least $500 and then quit. Her second day she was up almost $400, but decided to keep on playing. After all, she was on a lucky winning streak. A couple of hours later, she was down to her last $100 hoping to at least break even. There may be a winner or two on the plane, but not many more. Sadly, many of the passengers could have returned home winners or small losers, even playing against games with ferocious house edges. But they didn't. I asked my friend the craps player why he wouldn't quit while he was ahead. "Hell, I can't quit them, I've got the casinos just where I want them." I then asked him why he wouldn't pull off and take a break when he was losing. "I can't stand to quit when the casino is ahead. If I lose all of my money I have to quit, but I don't like to give up and I won't." Compulsion. It may be the casino's greatest weapon against the players. Money Compared to your bankroll, the casino has all of the money in the world. And you don't. The casino limits the maximum size of wagers it will accept from players so that it never risks too much of its bankroll on a single hand or a single roll of the dice. 115

116 However, most players don't do this. When you are losing, it is easy to slip into a state of panic. You can't possibly absorb the losses you just took. You're hurt and a little bitter over what the casino has done to you. The main thought racing through your mind is how you are going to get your money back. Maybe now is the time to place a few large bets. After all, since the casino has beaten you by winning many smaller wagers, it makes sense that if you can just win a few larger bets, you can win back all of your losses and maybe even get ahead. You muster your resources and put together another five hundred dollars. But this time it will be different. Your plan is to wager $50.00 on a hard 6 or 8 for five consecutive tries. Since the payoff for a win is 9 to 1, if you can just win a couple of times, you will recoup most of your losses. You further reason that since a 6 or 8 is almost as easy to hit as a 7, that this bet really isn't that risky, forgetting that the house edge is over nine percent. You lay your cash on the table and ask the dealer for chips. You toss two green $25 chips, saying, "Give me a hard 8." The shooter rolls a 5, and then an 8, 5-3, the easy way. The stickman removes your bet and asks you, "Would you like your hard 8 back up?" The game continues. You may win, which will encourage more of the same type betting. Or you may lose quickly. But one thing is for certain. You are now out of control. Your original plan has been thrown out the window. You are now playing the game the casino wants you to play. You are over betting on a long-shot proposition heavily favoring the house and your emotions are shot. The odds are very great the casino will wear you down in short order and keep your last heroic buy-in. Many players come inadequately bankrolled to play against the casino. If you bring $500 and expect to make $1,000, you have great odds against you. If you bring $1,000 and will settle for making $200, then you have a much greater probability of success. I will have quite a bit more to add on bankroll in a few more chapters, but just remember that the casino 116

117 has the bankroll to wait until you stumble, but you don't have that kind of money on your side. Generally, instead of trying to grind a win out of a casino, you will be much better off to use "hit and run" tactics, where you can put a comparatively small bankroll to good use by hitting the casino over and over for small wins. This is much like the strategy used by a mongoose fighting a cobra. The cobra will strike again and again at the mongoose. The mongoose knows that one successful strike will cause its demise and it jumps and weaves out of the cobra's strike path until finally the weary cobra leaves an opening and the mongoose grabs the cobra with lightening speed, overcoming a lethal adversary by using stealth and speed. The mongoose's approach is not a bad lesson for casino payers. Compulsion, the casino environment and the house edge are the big guns in the casino's arsenal and should be feared in that order. I believe that most casinos would still be profitable even without the house edge as player compulsion is the greatest single contributor to casino profits. Compulsion entails keeping tabs on yourself at all times. Having a plan will help you greatly. Most players just grab whatever amount of money that can find and play games that are most familiar to them, with no plan other than "winning." When you use the Automatic Craps approach, you will know exactly how much to risk in each game, how much you expect to win, your maximum acceptable loss, when to leave a table. The value of having and following a plan is almost immeasurable. It will help you more than any other thing you might conceive of to beat the casinos. Although the house edge is the least harmful of the casino's weapons, I am assuming that you will have the good sense to avoid the bets with the highest house edge against you. At craps if you consistently wager large amounts on the one-roll proposition bets and the hardways, you will lose much more often than if you stick to lower house edge wagers such as pass line, don't pass and the inside place numbers. 117

118 The Player's Edge As powerful as the casinos may seem to be, you can walk into a casino knowing that you have an edge over the house. As a successful gambler you have to be able to win more than you lose. What are the tricks you will use to gain an edge over this formidable adversary? Your edge will consist of the following actions: 1. When you are losing, you can quit. 2. When you are winning, you can walk out with the casino's money. 3. You can vary the size of your wagers. 4. You can pick where to play. 5. You can modify your strategy based on table results and conditions. 6. You can use discipline to develop a winning plan and then stick to it. Most players never realize what an advantage these offer. The casino cannot be flexible. It must continue to offer the same games, with the same rules, without the ability to react to changing conditions. The nimble player can weave and dodge and even choose not to play a particular game. Let's elaborate on the player's edge: 1. When you are losing, you can quit. You can always control your losses while the casino must continue to offer its games regardless of the outcomes. I have seen hot craps tables where the casino lost over a hundred thousand dollars in less than an hour. All the casinos can do is order in more chips and hope that the hot streak will end. 2. When you are winning, you can walk out with the casino's money. As a player you can always control when you stop playing. While the casino must continue offering its games twenty-four hours a day, you can jump in, grab a win and pull off. You have ultimate flexibility while the casino does not. 3. You can vary the size of your wagers. One approach a player can use is to increase the size of his wagers when he is winning and reduce them when losing. He may also choose to raise his wagers after losses so that only a win or two out of many wagers 118

119 will put him ahead. A player can set up options where he doesn't have to win the majority of his bets. Using these techniques effectively goes a long ways towards minimizing the house edge and even turning it into a player edge! 4. You can pick where to play. You can play at tables offering the best situations for you. You can choose to play at tables that are almost empty by playing during slack periods. This can significantly increase your hourly win rate. You can also make it your business to know where the best payoffs are. The casinos, which pay triple on a field roll of 12, turn this wager from a weak one to one with acceptable risk. If you are looking for certain table conditions, you can scout for the right table before you play. You have numerous options while the house must offer the game to anyone who is old enough to play, conforms to fairly lax casinos standards and has some money to begin play. 5. You can modify your strategy based on table results and conditions. Every table develops different trends at different times. Some tables favor bettors who play numbers, while others favor players who bet from the dark side, wagering on the don't pass or don't come. Most tables are choppy, favoring neither right nor wrong betters. You can adjust to the changing playing conditions as they occur. If the table is repeating numbers, you can modify your strategy to take advantage of this trend. If the table is ice cold, you can make still different moves. In short, you have the ability to bob and weave, duck and thrust, parry and counter punch. The table can't react to anything. Every craps table is like an inanimate object that must endlessly grind out numbers, while you circle and pounce. 6. You can use discipline to develop a winning plan and then stick to it. The house has ultimate discipline. The very structure of the casino games and atmosphere exhibit a carefully planned approach designed to transfer funds from the players' pockets into the casino coffers in the shortest time possible. Of course, to a large extent this relies on most players' lack of discipline. Once you gain the discipline to set up a winning game plan and then follow it, you can effectively neutralize much of the casino's edge over the crowd of players. 119

120 I played a couple of hours of craps in a local casino last night. I played for low stakes, buying in for $500. I used the Automatic Craps approach. The table varied from choppy to cold the whole time I was there. I don't believe that anyone else at the table won any money but me. The difference between the rest of the players and me was that I had a plan for the evening and I stuck to it. With a $500 buy-in, I set $350 as my profit goal. After less than two hours of play I checked my chips, found I was up $361 and cashed in. The player's edge comes from all of the points listed above, plus the ability to hide your wins from the casinos. There is really no reason that anyone other than you and your significant other should know about your casino prowess. There are people who would kill you for fifty bucks. Casinos really don't like winners. That's why a number of Las Vegas casinos still bar blackjack card counters. It may not be fair, but even with all of its advantages, if you somehow manage to win, the casino can deny you access to their games. The book How to Survive and Prosper as a Professional Gambler (get it free here offers some excellent suggestions on how to consistently beat the casinos and still stay on the bosses' good side. I recommend it to you. The net effect of applying all of the elements of the player's edge is to neutralize and even overcome the casino's advantage. Your biggest edge will come from your discipline. Interestingly, this is the same kind of discipline the casinos expect from their dealers, floor bosses and staff. If it works for them, you know that it will work for you too! 120

121 Betting Strategies Nearly every gambler uses some kind of system even if his system merely consists of guessing what to do next. In July 1891, Charles Wells, an Englishman, arrived at the casino at Monte Carlo with 10,000 francs. Within a few days he had won over a million. He retired for a few months to relish his accomplishment, then returned and proceeded to win another million francs. His exploits inspired the song "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo." Unfortunately, he would not quit while he was ahead. He returned the next year and lost it all. Later he resorted to illegal shenanigans, was imprisoned and eventually died in poverty. But his play gave Monte Carlo worldwide fame. Many studied his play and tried to emulate him. He finally confessed before he died that he had no system. His winnings were attributable to an amazing run of luck! Betting systems or betting progressions have been devised for every gambling game. Many of them had their origins in eighteenth and nineteenth century roulette played on the French Riviera. While the particulars of different betting systems vary greatly, the systems fall into three broad categories: 1. Flat: Keep bets constant, waiting for a streak of successes. 2. Negative progressions: raise bets after losses, trying to recover an eventual win. 3. Positive progressions: raise bets after wins, hoping to use the "house money" to create a large win. Each of these systems has positive and negative characteristics, but the approach, which catches the most flack from gaming experts, is the negative progression. The advocates of positive progressions don't think much of increasing your wager after a loss. By their thinking, increasing a bet after you have lost amounts to throwing good money after bad, with the probable outcome being that you will just lose more money. However, as we shall see, in the short run just the opposite is likely to be true. 121

122 Assume that we are going to bet pass line at craps for eight decisions. Three different players will help us in this illustration. Player A does not believe in ever changing the size of his bet. He bets flat, that is the same amount on every hand, regardless of the outcome of his preceding hand. In our example, he will bet $10 a hand. Player B likes to follow the system many experts recommend and he will press or double his bet after each win, gradually betting more and more as he uses the house's money. He will start with a $10 bet, increase it to $20 after a win, then wager $40 if he wins again. If his bet reaches as high as $160, he will stay at this level until he loses a wager. After any loss, he will drop back to betting $10. Player C has heard that increasing his bets after losses is the "surest way to win." He will start with a $10 bet. If he loses this bet he will wager $20. If this bet loses, he will increase his bet to $40, then $80, followed by $160 if this wager also loses. His maximum wager is $160. If he reaches this level he will continue to wager $160 until he has a win. After any win, he will regress to a $10 bet. The following table compares the results of eight decisions, consisting of six losses and two wins. 122

123 Comparison of Bet Selection Methods Decisions L L W L L L L W Player A Bet Win (loss) Net Win Player B Bet Win (loss) Net Win Player C Bet Win (loss) Net Win W= Win, L= Loss of wager In this series of wagers, Player A loses $40, Player B loses $50, while Player C comes out $20 ahead. I purposely set up this example to illustrate some of the characteristics of each of the betting strategies. 123

124 For a given session, flat betting leads to sessions with the narrowest, most balanced range of expected wins and losses. In this series, we lost 75% of our wagers; therefore, we expect to have a loss. Positive progressions, like the progression used by Player B, offer more likelihood of an adverse than a favorable session, with intermittent large wins. In this example, increasing wagers after wins caused this player to lose $50, a greater loss than the one realized betting flat. Negative progressions, like the one used by Player C, offer a greater chance of winning any given session but have the characteristic of generating many small wins with occasional large losses. The exact result of sessions played in casinos depends on the details of each game and on variations applied to systems by individual players. However, by ignoring variations, using each system in its rawest form, we can test how each system performed against the same set of decisions and comment on general characteristics of each approach to wagering. A test was created assuming that wagers are made on pass line only. Each game was 100 decisions long. Limits on the progressions were imposed which required any progression to end immediately if the next bet required in the series exceeded 256 units. The following systems were tested. Please note that these are not presented as practical systems but are used to emphasize the differences you can expect in each approach to wagering. 1. Flat Betting: Single units are bet and the amount never varies. 2. Positive Progression: In this parlay type of progression, bets are doubled after every win and reduced to one unit after every loss. Assuming a string of nine consecutive wins, this progression would be: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128,

125 3. Negative Progression: A Martingale type of progression is used where bets are doubled after every loss and reduced to a single unit after any win. Assuming a string of nine consecutive losses, this series would consist of the following wagers: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256. The results of a 2,000 session computer run using each technique are presented in a table on the following page. This table shows some of the trade offs among the systems. Notice that while the average size bet for flat betting was 1 unit, it increased to 3.8 units using a positive progression, and was highest at 5.2 units for the negative progression. The average size bet was larger for negative than positive progression because runs of losing bets were longer, and therefore, required higher wagers than runs of winning bets. In this contest, which is also analogous to blackjack, the losing streaks tended to be longer than the winning streaks. Flat betting won 38.70% of the games and lost 59.85% of them. The positive progression showed the lowest win percentage of all, winning only 9.60% of the games while losing over 90% of them. The negative progression won over 85% of the games and lost only about 15% of them. This strategy was clearly the winner in terms of the number of individual games won. 125

126 The last column in the table "Equivalent Amount Won or Lost" shows how much the amounts would have been if the flat and positive betting strategies' wagers had been raised so that the averages were the same as with the negative progression. Betting System 2,000 Session Computer Run Testing Flat, Positive and Negative Betting Systems Outcomes Flat (1 unit is the average size bet) Percent of Sessions Break even 1.45% Average Amount Won or Lost Equivalent Amount Won or Lost Won 38.70% 7 37 Lost 59.85% 9 48 Positive (3.8 units is the average size bet) Break even 0.05% Won 9.60% Lost 90.35% Negative (5.2 units is the average size bet) Break even 0.00% Won 85.35% Lost 14.65% There are a number of variables which affect your ability to avoid losing your bankroll. These variables include the type of betting system used, the size of your bankroll, the games you play, the length of time you play, and your luck at winning any given gaming contest. 126

127 Let's compare the effects of using different betting systems on our ability to play without losing our bankroll. The betting systems we will use are: 1. Flat betting. We will bet $25 regardless of previous outcomes. 2. Positive Progression. We will start with a $10 base bet. After each win we will double our bet with a maximum wager of $80. If we reach the $80 betting level we will continue to wager $80 until we lose a wager. After any losing wager we will drop back to betting $10. The bets we would make in a winning streak would be: $10, $20, $40, $80, $80, until we have a loss. 3. Negative Progression. Again we will use a $10 base bet. After each loss we will double our bet, with our maximum bet to be $80. If we reach the $80 bet, we will continue to wager $80 until we have a win. After any win we will drop back to betting $10. A losing series would consist of: $10, $20, $40, $80, $80, until we have a win. Here's the game we will face. We will play in a coin tossing contest and we will always wager heads. Heads wins even money less a 2 percent house commission. When tails shows we lose the wager. The chances here are and the house edge is 1 percent. The next table shows how each betting system fares, varying the size of our bankroll and the number of games played. Each game consists of 100 bets. Flat betting offers the least chance of losing your bankroll. If you are willing to use a bankroll of $2,000 in playing this coin-tossing game, you will have a 99% chance of not losing your bankroll if you flat bet. 127

128 Using a positive progression gives you almost as good a chance of keeping your bankroll intact as flat betting. A $500 bankroll offers a 94% chance of not losing all of your bankroll as compared to 96% for flat betting and only 83% for the negative progression at this level. Computer Run Testing Different Betting Systems Comparing the Bankroll Used and the Length of Time Played. Bankroll Size Number of Games Played Flat Bets Chance of Not Losing Bankroll Positive Progression % 66% 56% % 94% 83% % 87% 80% 1, % 81% 76% 2, % 98% 94% Negative Progression Increasing your bets after losses greatly increases your chance of losing all of your bankroll. Using the negative betting progression, the chance of keeping your bankroll is only 56% using a $250 bankroll, playing for 100 games. The pattern of much higher risk of losing your bankroll with a negative progression continues until we increase our bankroll to $2,000. With a $2,000 bankroll, we can play the coin-toss game for 750 rounds with only a 6% chance of losing our bankroll (94% chance of keeping it as shown in the table). This compares favorably with the flat bettor's percentage of 99% and the positive progression bettor's percentage of 98% at this level. The moral of this comparison should be obvious. Using a negative betting progression greatly increases your likelihood of losing your bankroll unless you increase 128

129 your bankroll to an adequate level. In this example, by increasing our bankroll to $2,000, we only give up 5% of the chance of losing our bankroll using a negative progression as compared to betting flat (94% as compared to 99%). All gambling strategies involve compromises. Betting flat offers the greatest likelihood of keeping your bankroll, but the poorest chance of winning. You may recall in the earlier table comparing betting strategies that flat betting only won about 39% of its games. Using a positive betting progression wins only 9.6% of its games (shown in earlier table), but you won't risk losing your bankroll much more using this system than with betting flat. Referring again to the earlier table, we notice that using a negative progression gave us a win rate over 85%. At first glance at the table on the preceding page, it would seem that this high win rate came only by increasing our risk of losing our bankroll by a large factor. But please note the following. Once we increase our bankroll to a larger amount, $2,000 in the example here, our risk of losing our bankroll using a negative progression is only 6%, not much greater than the 2% chance of losing with a positive progression, or the 1% chance of losing our bankroll betting flat. If we are willing to use a somewhat larger bankroll, using a negative progression gives us the best of all worlds: A high probability of winning and a low possibility of losing our bankroll. This is something that almost no gambling experts will ever tell you. Experts invariably recommend only the first two approaches to win any gaming contest. The first approach is to gain a mathematical edge over the game. This is the strategy card counters hope to use at blackjack. At roulette, wheel watchers hope to gain an edge by finding an unbalanced wheel where the ball lands in one section of the wheel a higher percentage of the time than chance would explain. With craps, advantage seekers look to precision shooting to alter the casino's edge against the players. 129

130 The second approach to gambling, almost universally recommended by the experts, is to use a positive betting progression. That this is the best system for capitalizing on winning streaks is the number one reason cited for using this system. Almost never mentioned by the experts is that this system has a dismal winning rate, losing about 9 out of every 10 sessions. As we have seen, the betting strategy with the greatest chance of winning is the negative progression. With an adequate bankroll, the risk of loss can be reduced to a reasonable amount. The examples and simulations used in this chapter were for games of chance, rather than a game of skill like blackjack. The examples also assumed games where the house had an edge over the player. Our examples serve to illustrate the varying characteristics of betting flat versus using either a positive or negative betting progression. In the next chapter we will take a look at different betting systems. Several of these approaches are over one hundred years old. Let's see if our not so dumb ancestors had any meaningful insights on how to beat the craps game! 130

131 Betting Progressions Betting systems fall into the broad categories of betting the same after each decision, known as flat betting, raising wagers after wins, called positive progressions, and raising money after losses, named negative progressions. There are also systems which have characteristics of one or more of these types, such as the Take Down System s bet sizing strategy which we will encounter in a few more chapters. Many of the classical betting systems were developed for roulette in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, but can be used for other games with even-money wagers such as craps, baccarat and blackjack. Although none of these systems in its pure form is a winning system, it is worthwhile to study the efforts of our ancestors, as these betting systems are the grandparents of every modern betting system. Martingale Martingale is one of the oldest betting systems using a negative progression. It is named after Henry Martingale, an English casino owner in the 1700s who is reputed to urge losing punters to "double 'em up" with their wagers. This system is very simple. You will use a betting series where each bet in the series is twice as large as the preceding one, as with 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32. So long as you win a bet, you will continue to bet at the lowest level, e.g. wager 1. If you lose a bet, you will move up to the next wager, doubling the amount of the previous wager. Use of the system ensures that whenever your wager eventually wins, you will win the amount of the original wager, in this instance 1. One of my gambling friends once told me about an amazing system he had developed for craps. He had gone to Las Vegas on two consecutive trips and returned a winner. He was wagering only on don't pass at casino craps using a betting series starting with a $1 bet and doubling his bet after each loss. He was certain that his risk of loss was very small and planned to continue to use the system. He was reluctant to share the system with me but he finally confessed that he was using the following betting series, increasing his wager one level following a loss: He correctly pointed out 131

132 that he would have to lose nine times in a row to lose the betting series, and he just didn't think that this was possible. I pointed out to him that there was a very real possibility that he could lose nine decisions in a row; in fact, this would happen once about every 500 pass line - don't pass decisions. With craps decisions averaging fifty to sixty per hour, a loss of all nine wagers could happen once every eight to ten hours. I asked him to consider whether he was winning enough to sustain a loss of $ (the total amount he was risking) in order to win the sum of $1. This must have impressed him as I don't think he ever used this system again (or at least he didn't tell me about losing with it). The Martingale system would be just about unbeatable if you could continue to double your wagers until you finally won a bet. Modern casinos are very aware of Martingale, and they know that the easiest way to thwart the system is to narrow the spread between maximum and minimum bets allowed. In other words, the minimum wager must be high enough and the maximum wager low enough that no more than eight or nine doublings can occur. If you find a table with a low minimum, such as $1 and a high maximum, such as $3,000, you may wish to try using a Martingale system against the table. You could use the following series of wagers: ,024 2,048. With 12 bets in the series, you would be an odds-on favorite to win any weekend gambling contest involving even-money wagers. However, you might want to consider one thing. If you try this, sooner or later you will lose bet number 11, for $1,024. You will now have lost $2,047 and will be called on to bet $2,048 in order to win the grand sum of $1. Are you willing to risk it? If you win, you will be up exactly one buck for your efforts. However, if you lose your last wager of $2,048, you will have lost $4,095 in the gaming contest. While the risk of loss is low, it will happen at some time if you continue to wager this way, and there is no guarantee that it won't happen during your first casino excursion using this system. Mini-Martingale Martingale in its purest form is too risky for the amount of reward offered. Nearly every gambling expert likes to cite Martingale as an example of a losing system and then jump into a gloating mode and proclaim that all betting systems are losers. However, a 132

133 Martingale system can be used with very good results if it is used on a spot basis. Assume that you are wagering on an even-money game and that you have lost the last four consecutive wagers. Usually, a three-stage Martingale against this trend continuing for three more decisions will be quite profitable and the reward will be reasonable as compared to the amount risked. A five-stage Martingale progression can be used when it is used against a betting pattern which is less likely to occur than would normally be expected. Use of a five-stage Mini-Martingale is incorporated as part of the Take Down System. Grand Martingale One criticism of Martingale is that too much is risked as compared to the potential return. For example, in the first Martingale series shown, you would have had to wager $256 in order to win a net $1. With Grand Martingale, additional chips are added to each increased wager, so that when a win finally occurs, the amount won will be greater than just the amount of the first wager. A typical Grand Martingale series is: Martingale in all forms risks a lot to win a little. When the losses come, they will wipe out hours of profits. Another twist to using a Martingale series is to play Martingale in reverse, called an "Anti-Martingale" betting series. With this system, winning wagers will be pressed (doubled). Whenever you encounter a long winning streak this system can produce phenomenal profits. Assume we use the following Anti-Martingale series: With five consecutive wins, we will $155, while our total risk is only the amount of our first wager, $5. The high-risk reward ratio is a major reason raising your wagers after wins is recommended by many gaming experts. However, as we saw two chapters back, this type of system wins very infrequently, and the many small losses overwhelm most gains, so that over 90% of all games will end with a loss. Labouchere With Labouchere, also known as the Cancellation System, the player sets up a series of numbers which will add up to the profit he will make if he wins this betting series. If he picks as his series, his expected profit for winning this series is = 6. Like the variations of Martingale, this series is used with even-money bets. 133

134 To start the series, a player will wager the sum of the two outside numbers, in this case 4 (1 + 3 = 4). If he wins this wager, he will cancel the two outside numbers by scratching them out, and wager the sum of the next two outside numbers. In this simple series, only the single number of 2 is left, so the player would wager 2. If he also wins this wager, he will have won the series, having won 4 on the first round and 2 for the second wager, for a total of 6, the total of all bets in the series. Any time the player loses a wager, he will add the amount lost to the series and continue to wager the sum of the two outside wagers. Let's assume the player lost the first bet of 4. He would add this wager to the series, which would now become: His next wager would be for 5, the sum of the two outside wagers. We will assume that this bet wins. Having won the bet, our players cancels the outside numbers of 1 and 4 leaving the series as: 2 3. He next wagers the sum of these two numbers, betting 5. If this wager wins the series is completed. If he loses this wager, the losing bet of 5 will be added to the series and he will continue the series. The principal appeal of this system is that it appears to be a two for one proposition in that each win cancels two numbers while a loss only adds one number to the series. However, this isn't the case, as the player is not paid two for one on winning bets. In testing this system, I have had bets escalate to wagers of hundreds of dollars all too frequently. This is probably the most insidious of the old time roulette systems. It is said to have been responsible for more suicides on the French Riviera than any other system. Part of the problem with this system is that the small stream of steady wins tends to lull the player into believing that the system can't lose. Unfortunately, a long enough losing streak will occur that the wagers called for will either be larger than the player's bankroll or will exceed the house limits and not be allowed. In either case, the series will be over with the end result that the player suffers a substantial loss. This system can also be played in reverse, known as Reverse Labouchere. With Reverse Labby, as many punters call it, the amount of each win is added to the series, and the two outside numbers are canceled whenever a loss occurs. Each wager is still the sum of 134

135 the two outside numbers. This system produces many small losses in exchange for an occasional win over 1,000 times the amount at risk. Use of this approach is recounted in Norman Leigh's fascinating account of his successful effort to beat the casino in Monte Carlo by playing Labouchere in reverse (Thirteen Against the Bank, William Morrow & Co., 1976). Norman Leigh theorized that the reason so many players lose with Labouchere is that they run into the house limits or lose their playing capital and are unable to recoup losses. Since the bank has almost unlimited capital in comparison to the players, the bank can out wait most player assaults, knowing that either the house betting limit or the player's own limited financial resources will bring about the player's demise. In using the reverse betting strategy, Leigh reasoned that this approach would most closely resemble the bank's approach to most other players. He would wait out the small losses until a large win occurred. Leigh spent months recruiting and training a team to play against the casino. His trials in pulling off this coup make for fascinating reading. I believe that one of the reasons he was eventually able to beat the casino in Monte Carlo was that his starting wagers were fairly low and the house maximums large in comparison. Consequently, he was able to keep his losses fairly low while his team played on, waiting for the monster win. It is doubtful that this system could be used successfully now, as the spread between minimum and maximum wagers is not large enough in most casinos. The losses realized while waiting for the large win would be enormous, with the house limits on maximum wagers limiting the systems' ability to ultimately recoup the losses. D'Alembert This system was invented by a French mathematician, based on the assumption of equilibrium in gaming contests. D'Alembert reasoned that since winning and losing bets must eventually equal one another, a system of adding one chip after each losing bet and subtracting a chip after a winning bet would ultimately result in a win as winning wagers would always be greater than losing ones. 135

136 It is not unusual to win only ten of the first thirty wagers in an even-money betting contest. With d'alembert's system, the player will wager higher and higher amounts until he eventually runs into our old nemesis, the house limit. D'Alembert can be fairly successful if it is modified to include no more than nine or ten bets in a series of wagers, so that potential losses are limited. An additional modification to improve the system is to space the bets so that the win of two consecutive wagers will offset prior losses. A series which accomplishes this is With this series, a player would drop back to the lowest bet after winning two consecutive wagers, such as 7 and 4. This system can be fairly successful if used by two partners betting the opposite in roulette, craps or baccarat. Contra-d-Alembert Like Reverse Labouchere, the idea behind Contra-d'Alembert is to reduce the amount risked while allowing profitable runs to rise to great heights. With this strategy we will increase our wager one level after a win and reduce it a level following a loss. The only positive aspect to the strategy is that when you hit a prolonged losing streak the size of your wagers is quickly reduced. In this respect this system can help protect your bankroll. However, the upside of using any system requiring increasing your wager following wins is limited. Trends of long, uninterrupted winning streaks are fairly rare in gaming and a system relying on piling up win after consecutive win is not going to win very often. Here's an example. Your first bet is for one unit. You win and move up to betting two units. With another win, you wager three units and have a loss. You have won two out of three bets and have absolutely nothing to show for it. All of your profit evaporated with that single loss. If you could always pick your spots, this system would have merit. Of course, if pigs could fly... well, you get the idea. It is just about impossible to know in advance when a three-wager consecutive win might occur so that you could jump in with a Contra- 136

137 d'alembert. Like so many systems, this one sounds good on paper, but is difficult to squeeze profits out of in real world gaming. Ascot This is another of the old time roulette systems that can be adapted to any game offering even-money bets. With Ascot, winning wagers are increased one unit at a time in a predetermined series of wagers while losing bets are lowered one step using the same betting series. An Ascot betting series can be from seven to eleven numbers. A typical series is: The player's first wager would be a middle number such as 8. If this wager wins, the next wager would be 13. If this wager also won, the succeeding wager would be for 20, and so on, with each win followed by an increase of one level in the betting series. The series would end with the win of the last bet in the series. For a win, that would be a win of 30. A losing series would be terminated with the loss of the lowest bet of 2. The greatest problem with Ascot is that alternating wins and losses at the higher levels of wagers will destroy the profit potential of the series. This can be a serious flaw in any system calling for a large reduction in the amount wagered following a loss. The Fibonacci System Fibonacci was a mathematician who discovered a series of numbers where the sum of each two numbers in the series equals the number which follows. A Fibonacci series with twelve levels of bets would look like: for a total risked of $608. This is a very low risk system for use with even-money bets at craps, roulette and baccarat. To use it, you will increase your bet one level following a loss. After any win, you drop your next wager one level. If you win two bets in a row, or win two out of three bets, you drop back to the first bet in the series. This system was sold many years ago for $100 a copy with instructions to use it betting don't pass in craps. This is a good system for partners to use betting opposites. With 137

138 roulette, for instance, one partner could bet red while the other wagered black. With craps, one would wager on pass line and the other on don't pass. With baccarat, one partner would bet banker and the other on player hands. An adaptation of this system has been used to successfully win at craps (The Silverthorne System, Silverthorne Publications. See order form in the back of this book). Incidentally, there are a number of derivations of the Fibonacci series of numbers, including ratios of the numbers, which are regularly used in trading stocks and commodity future contracts. This is indeed a versatile and powerful sequence of numbers. The Parlay A parlay or paroli is a positive progression method. In its simplest form, it consists of leaving a winning bet plus the winnings up for a second win. If you are betting $10 on an even-money bet and win $10, you parlay the wager by leaving $20 up for the next decision. If this bet wins, you will have won $30 while only risking $10. Probably the most attractive aspect of a successful parlay is that it wins three times as much as the amount risked. However, the probability of winning two bets in a row on even-money wagers is less than one in four. For this reason, one of the better ways to use a parlay is to combine it with a series of bets where the amount wagered is increased following a loss. For example the following parlay progression could be used: To use this series, you would normally start with the first wager in the series. If this bet won, you would parlay it and next wager $4. If either the original wager or the parlay lost you would move up one level in the betting series. Any time a parlay bet is won, you will start the betting series over. If the series is lost, you may either start the series over or leave the table. Setting up parlay progressions like the one above can be the basis for some of the best performing betting progressions in gambling. To use such a series in blackjack, which requires additional money in order to handle pair splitting and doublings, requires adjustments to the series. One way to handle this is to modify basic strategy to reduce the number of splitting and doubling plays. However, this is not a wise way to play blackjack 138

139 as these moves represent one of the player's strongest winning options. A better way to handle the program of developing a winning parlay progression for blackjack is to modify the progression so that it allows for splitting and doubling opportunities. Oscar's Grind If you want to use a system with very little risk of loss, here's the one you want. Oscar has a target of winning one unit at the end of any successful betting series. That's it. One unit. Here are the rules: 1. Increase your bet by one unit after every win; provided that winning the wager won't result in a series gain larger then one unit. 2. Never change the size of your bet following a loss. Assume that your betting unit is $5 and you are betting don't pass. You find yourself fighting a hot streak and you have lost six bets in a row for a cumulative loss of $30. You continue to bet $5 since you never change the size of your wager following losses. You bet $5 again and win. Now, with one win and six losses, you are down a net $25. Following the win, you raise your bet one unit and wager $10. This wager also wins. You have reduced your net loss to $15. You raise your next wager one more unit to $15 and win. You are now even. Your final wager will revert to $5. Why? Because of the rule limiting the size of a wager to one which will not result in a gain larger than one unit. Your last bet of $5 wins. You now have a net win of $5, having lost six bets and won four. Even this system can take you to high levels on occasion. If you find yourself in a situation where you have occasional wins followed by multiple losses, the size of your wagers will continue to grow. If you run into this situation, you will be forced to stop the series at some point and accept a loss, rather than risking larger and larger amounts of money. 139

140 Positive Betting Progressions in Blackjack Charles Einstein who originated the Hi-Opt 1 card counting system wrote a book titled Blackjack Betting in In it he advocated a betting system based on the rhythm of blackjack wins and losses. He recommended increasing wagers following losses and decreasing wagers after wins, somewhat similar to the Ascot system described earlier. Traditional card counting experts and mathematicians who have studied the blackjack game reacted negatively to Einstein's progressive betting system. In general, the advocates of card counting are unwilling to even consider that any betting progression can come close to equaling the results achieved through card counting. Their minds are closed on the subject that anything other than card counting can be used to win at blackjack. Dahl's Blackjack System Donald Dahl in Progressive Blackjack (Citadel Press Group, 1993) presented a positive betting progression for use at blackjack. The progression for tables with $5 minimum bets is: To use this progression, always start with the lowest bet and move up one level after each win. After any loss, you will start the progression over. Dahl suggests that you skip a level after receiving a blackjack. For instance, if you were at the level three bet of $25 and won with a blackjack, you would skip the next $25 bet and wager $35 on the next hand. He recommends skipping two levels after winning splits and doubles unless the jump would cause you to risk more money than the amount received on the previous wager. If this is the case, then jump just one level on the next bet. Dahl's book is interesting, but his system is weak in several ways. No automatic stopping points are suggested and he doesn't have any suggestions for sessions when multiple losses occur. 140

141 Patrick's System John Patrick, a professional gambler turned writer, presented another positive betting system for blackjack, which can also be used for craps. In his John Patrick's Blackjack (Carol Publishing Group, 1995) he describes his system. He uses a system with both progressive and regressive attributes. With his system, you will start with a wager at least twice as large as the table minimum so that you have room to reduce the size of your bet after wins. After your first win, your next wager will be one-half the size of the first winning wager. For instance, if your base bet is $10 and you win, you will wager $5 next. After any net loss you will revert to the original starting bet. However, if you can manage to win the second bet in a series, you will return to the two-unit bet and increase the amount wagered after any additional win. A series of six wins at a $10 minimum table would look like: for a total of $170 won. Patrick suggests a way to limit losses by quitting if you lose the first four hands in a shoe or deck. 141

142 Core Craps Bets Most craps players are losers. The casino hold rate for the average craps table is about 20%. This means that the casino wins 20% of all of the money converted from cash to chips at a craps table. If you buy in for $300, then the casino figures to win about 20% of that or $60. Most players manage to commit two major errors when they play craps. They overstay and they overplay. Overstaying is very common. Most players will not quit when they are ahead. Only when the casino has beaten them down to nothing will they consider quitting. A couple of nights ago I played a short session at a nearby casino, using the Automatic Craps method. Because I knew that I could only play for an hour or so, I used a smaller buy-in and mostly played for fun. However, even though I was not trying to make a killing, I adhered to the Take Down System and won $521 in 65 minutes. The table was fairly typical. A new shooter would get the dice. The pass line bettors dutifully made their pass line bets, followed up with taking odds. Most of the players either made come bets with odds or placed several numbers. Many times the players would make hardways bets or toss the stickman chips for one of the one-roll prop bets in the center of the table. The table pattern was fairly consistent. Not one player made over two consecutive passes in the time I was there. The right bettors using their betting strategies were killed. Interestingly, I didn't see one player (except for me) make any bets on the don't pass. I didn't see any players (once again excluding myself) make any attempt to adjust to the table conditions. The players might as well have been mindlessly plunking coins into a tight slot with few payoffs. Yet the majority of the players continued to play in the same manner even though they were losing with almost every shooter. 142

143 The other players seemed to be stuck in a pattern of betting they had learned at one time and were unable or unwilling to change. Beating the craps game is not as difficult as it would seem if you had just dropped in and your only experience with the game was watching your fellow players. Most of them not only over stayed at the table, losing much more than they should have, but they consistently over bet. A Typical Craps System I want to show you how the typical craps player plays. I used to play like this until I caught on that I was making many more bets than I needed to make. Many players will make a front line bet and then hedge the bet by tossing a chip to the stickman and making an "any craps" bet. The theory here is that if a craps number of 2, 3 or 12 is rolled, the any craps bet will pay off to help offset the loss of the pass line wager. After a point is established, most players like to have some additional numbers working for them. If the shooter's point is 6, most players can't stand to wait to see if the shooter can repeat a 6 before rolling a 7. What about the numbers 4, 5, 8, 9, and 10? There are several ways to play the other box numbers. The two most common ways are come bets and place bets. Let's assume that Player A likes to make place bets. He has a $10 pass line bet, backed up with $50 odds. Now he throws $32 in chips on the table and tells the dealer "Thirty-two inside." This informs the dealer that Player A wants place bets of $10 on the 5, $12 on the 6 and $10 on the 9. Now the player has five wagers on the table. He may throw the stickman a nickel chip and ask for a hard eight giving him a total of six wagers down. On a typical roll, the shooter will roll two to four times before rolling a seven. With six wagers, Player A is almost certain to lose the majority of them, and more importantly, not win enough on his winning bets to offset his losses. 143

144 Many players like to press their place bets as they hit. Pressing a bet means increasing the bet, usually after a win. If Player A's place bet on the six hits, the dealer will normally slide $14 in winnings to the player. However, our player believes that every shooter might just be the one to hold the dice for an hour, so he tells the dealer, "Press my six." With this instruction, the dealer only gives $2 of the $14 in winnings to the player and adds $12 of the winnings to the six, increasing the bet to $24. When players play like this, the shooter can roll several of the player's numbers and the player will still show a loss when he sevens-out. You should never forget that every shooter eventually sevens out and most of them do it fairly quickly. An alternative way of "playing the numbers" is to make come bets and then take odds. Here, the player's bet will go to a point number box as each number is rolled. Most players who favor come bets over place bets will make at least three come bets and take odds. Assuming that they also have a pass line wager with odds and make three come bets with odds, they will have eight bets on the table at one time. The variety of player systems is endless. Some players will make come bets and then place either the 6 or 8 if a come bet does not cover those numbers. Other variations include buying the 4 and 10, or placing the outside numbers of 4, 5, 9 and 10. As a minimum, most players will make a pass line bet, take odds and at least play a couple of numbers. Even this strategy is wrong the way most players do it. I'll tell you exactly why shortly. Pass Line Plus Come Bet Method When I first learned to play craps, I quickly discovered that the method endorsed by many gambling experts was to play pass line, take full odds and then make two come bets with odds. This method is sometimes called the Ponzer method, and you will see it used at almost every craps table. 144

145 The appeal of the method is obvious. If the shooter should start rolling numbers and making his points, your wagers will entitle you to share in substantial profits as he rolls number after number. There is only one problem with this method. It loses most of the time! After generously contributing many thousands of dollars to help beautify the city of Las Vegas with new water falls, moving sidewalks, monorails and volcanoes, I caught on. This method does not produce anything resembling consistent profits. In essence, it stinks. The problem with the Pass line-come Bet, plus the Odds Method is that it does not win often enough to be a reliable profit maker. If you want to gamble, you can try this method of play. If you want to learn how to consistently beat the casinos, then stay with me a little longer. I promise you the Take Down System will deliver in spades. What About Odds Bets? Most players like to make a pass line bet and then back it up with odds. Casinos have encouraged this betting pattern by increasing the amount of money they allow for the odds portion of the bet. The last casino I played in offered five times odds, meaning that I could take odds up to five times the amount of my pass line, come, don't pass or don't come wager. Some casinos offer ten times odds, and for a long time the Horseshoe Club in downtown Vegas offered one hundred times odds even at a dollar minimum craps table. The last time I played at one of the these tables, there were several players making $1 pass line wagers and then taking $100 in odds once the point was established. This is a strategy that most gambling experts would recommend because the house edge is reduced to just a few hundreths of one-percent against the players taking 100 times odds. This is fine in theory, but in practice, taking high odds in conjunction with pass line and come bets only works on lukewarm to hot tables. A typical table alternates between cold to choppy with maybe one warm period lasting five minutes out of every hour. If you catch the warm period, taking high odds will pay off handsomely. If you are like most players and end up spending most of your time playing against cold to choppy playing conditions, taking high odds will deliver your head on a platter to the casino just as surely as if you had stepped right up to the executioner. 145

146 Even though nearly every gambling expert recommends odds bets, they are not necessary to win, and because of the additional money risked offer a very poor money management strategy. At this point, think of money management as preventing the house from taking your money by being as tight fisted as possible. In other words, if you don't need to take odds to win, then why expose more of your bankroll to the house. The biggest problem I have with taking odds in conjunction with a pass line or come bet is that you are risking more money when the house has a decisive edge against you. Once a pass line or come point has been established, the player's wager is at a substantial disadvantage. Even the players' favorite point numbers of 6 and 8 give a 16.67% edge to the house. With the 5 or 9, the house's edge increases to 33.33%. With a 4 or 10, you will be bucking a house edge of 50.00% If you have a pass line wager with a point of 10, the casino has a 2 to 1 chance of beating you. Let's assume your pass line wager is $10. If the casino where you are playing offers five-times odds, you can add an odds bet from $10 up to $50. If the shooter makes his point of 10 before rolling a 7, you will win 2 to 1 on your odds bet. The higher payoff is the major attraction of taking odds. But please note this - Even though you have a chance of winning a greater amount by taking odds, the house edge against you is not affected in the least. You can take one times odds, ten times odds or even a hundred times odds, and the house still holds a hammer giving them two ways of beating you for every one way you can win. Laying odds are also lousy bets, but for different reasons. You can lay odds with a don't pass or don't come bet, once its point number is established. Assume that you wager $10 on don't pass and the shooter's point becomes 10. You now have the casino exactly where you want it. You survived the horrendous odds against you on the come-out roll and now your wager is favored to win with 2 to 1 odds in your favor. The best thing is that the casino is stuck with paying you even-money on a bet you are heavily favored to win. 146

147 The same is true for any wrong bet. Once the bet is established, the odds swing overwhelmingly in favor of the player. Now comes the odds bet. With your $10 don t pass, you can lay single odds of $20 to win an additional $10. Once the odds bet is laid, you now have waged a total of $30 which can win a total of $20 ($10 for the don't pass wager plus $10 for the odds bet). But wait a minute. You had an even-money bet which would pay you $10 on a $10 wager before you laid odds. Why would you want to dilute the payoff from 1 to 1, with no odds bet, to 2 to 3 after taking odds. The answer is you don't want to lay odds. Whether you take odds or lay odds you are risking more money than you normally should, unless you are clairvoyant and know which way the table is going to run. It you know that the table is going to be consistently hot or cold then, by all means, take or lay odds. However, please remember to send me a copy of your method, because no one, to my knowledge, has ever developed any method of determining which way the dice will run. Examined in this light, taking odds becomes just another long-shot wager that you are not likely to win. Laying odds just dilutes a bet you are heavily favored to win, exposing money to a loss that you don't need to do. For our purposes, we will drop the odds bet from our repertoire of wagers. The Power of Line Bets Most players make pass line bets exclusively. Less than 10% of all players will focus on making don't pass wagers. Most players pick one camp or the other and then stick with it regardless of what trends occur at their table. If they are losing, they feel much like the song lyrics, "East is east and west is west and the wrong road I have chose." 147

148 I am going to suggest a different course. Line Bets should be the cornerstone or anchor of any craps system. They have a lot going for them. They are easy to make, easy to understand and offer house odds of only 1.4%, better than almost any bet you can find in the casino. Only player and banker bets in baccarat offer slightly lower odds on what is basically a bet with an even-money payoff and close to a chance of winning. Other than the baccarat bets, pass line and don't pass wagers are the closest thing you will find to a coin tossing contest using a fair coin. There is no reason to add the odds bet to a line bet. Either the pass line or the don't pass has inherent strengths that are only reduced when an odds bet is added. My studies have shown that you will win more money, more consistently by making line betting the major component of your system. The biggest decision you have to make with line bets is whether to be a pass line better, a don't pass bettor or to use some system which allows you to switch back and forth between the two. I have been intrigued with the concept of following patterns in the craps game to determine whether to wager on the pass line or the don't pass. The next chapter will cover bet selection in some detail and the options you have will surprise you. Playing the Numbers Like most craps players, I believe that playing some numbers offers a real chance to make additional money with each shooter and to keep the game as interesting as possible. There are two basic approaches to playing the numbers: come betting and place betting. Place bets are some of the most popular bets in bank craps. The point numbers can be played by making pass line wagers, which give the player the opportunity to bet on one number. Come bets allow the player to wager on multiple numbers. Place bets also allow the player to bet on multiple box or point numbers. 148

149 Place bets are made by setting chips on the table for the wager, usually in the come betting area, and telling the dealer the numbers you want to "Place." Place bets differ from come bets in a number of ways. They win or lose in basically the same way: the number on which you have wagered must show before a 7 is made. The differences between come and place bets are: 1. For a come bet to win the number must be repeated. A come bet which has 6 as a point can only win if the 6 is repeated before a 7. With place bets, a 6 needs to be made only one time for the bet to win. 2. Come bets are always working, even on come out rolls. Place bets are automatically off on come outs unless the player stipulates otherwise. 3. The player may pull place bets at any time. Come bets must stay in place until they are either won or lost. The flexibility of place bets attracts many players. Place bets may be made and pulled after a couple of wins. With come bets, once the bet is established, the player must wait for a decision. Many times a hot shooter will make his point and then roll a 7 on a come-out roll. The place bets are safe as they are automatically off on the roll, but the come bets will all go down with the appearance of a 7. The come bettor must start all over in establishing his bets, while the place bettor will have his bets in place with the first roll after the come out. Many place bettors like to cover all of the numbers as soon as a point is established. A $5 pass line bettor might decide to place all of the numbers except for the shooter's point. When the point is 6 or 8, the player might say to the dealer "26 across" which in craps parlance tells the dealer to place every number except the shooter's point as follows: $5 on the 10, $5 on the 9, $6 on the 8, $5 on the 5, and $5 on the 4 for a total of $

150 Because of the high vig or house edge on the numbers 4 and 10 (the house edge is 6.67%), some players like to bet only on the inside numbers. For example, with a point of 4, the player might tell the dealer, "22 inside" and lay down $22 in chips. The dealer would know that the player wants to play the inside box numbers as follows: $5 on the 5, $6 on the 6, $6 on the 8, $5 on the 9, for a total of $22. Because all of the place bets lose if a 7 is rolled, the house rule is that place bets are off on come out rolls. This rule enables the right bettor to win pass line wagers on come outs without losing his place bets. Also, place bets may be taken down or called off at any time, while come bets, once made, cannot be taken down and are always working, even on come out rolls. The house advantage over place bets is larger than on come bets. The odds against a 4 or 10 can be reduced somewhat by buying these wagers instead of placing them (more on this later). However, place bets are much more flexible than come bets. Let's summarize the main differences between place bets and come bets: 1. Place bets are automatically off on come out rolls; whereas, come bets are always working. 2. Place bets are "complete" bets in and of themselves and no odds may be taken. 3. For a come bet to win, the number must be repeated before the shooter rolls a seven. A Place bet on the same number will be paid the first time the number is rolled. 4. The player can increase the size of his place bets, reduce their size, or call the bets off anytime he wants. Come bets are contract bets with the casino, and once made, they must stay in place until they win or lose. The only option the player has with a come bet is with odds taken with a come bet. The player can take down odds at any time, or call them off for even a single roll. In addition, odds bets are automatically off on come out rolls unless the dealer is instructed that "my odds bets work on come outs." 150

151 5. The house advantage over place bets is greater than for come bets, especially if odds are taken with the come bets. 6. Place bets should be made in multiples of five chips on the 4, 5, 9 and 10 and multiples of 6 on the 6 and 8 in order for the payoffs to be made correctly. At nearly any craps table you will usually see several right bettors making place bets. After a point is established, many place bettors like to cover all of the box numbers or at least the inside numbers, excluding the shooter's point which they have covered with their pass line wagers. The smartest place bettors will only place the inside number of 5, 6, 8 and 9. When we make place bets using the Take Down System, we will only place the inside numbers of 5, 6, 8 and 9. The greatest problem with place betting is that for a player covering all of the numbers, usually with a pass line wager with single or double odds and place bets covering the five remaining numbers, the shooter must win on four of his place bets before a seven shows, to have a profit from the place bets. Too many times the shooter will only roll one or two numbers before sevening out, and the place bettor will lose most of the money bet. Of all the right bettors at the craps table, the place bettor, who covers all or most of the numbers with place bets, is most vulnerable to a seven being rolled. If the seven is rolled on the next roll after the point is established, the place bettor will lose his pass line wager, the odds bets taken with the pass line bet, and every place bet. For a $5 bettor taking single odds, this loss would be $36 in one roll of the dice! I have played many times with high rollers who signed $10,000 markers. Typically they will start betting with $100 or even $500 chips covering all of the numbers. On many occasions I have watched them lose all of the buy-in in less than fifteen minutes. The key to successful place betting is to limit the number of numbers placed and to be careful about when to make the place bets. The Take Down System advocates placing 151

152 the inside numbers only at certain times using predetermined betting guidelines. However, most place bettors do not limit their betting. After covering the numbers, they will press or double their wagers for any winning place bets. They must believe that a seven will never show, for when it does it will wipe out most, if not all of their winnings. I will show you how to play a hot roll when we discuss betting strategies. But you can be sure that covering all of the box numbers with place bets and pressing each winning bet is not the way to beat the craps game. Are you ready to get going? In this chapter, I have given you some pretty strong hints where we are heading. In the next chapter we will take a harder look at place betting. 152

153 The Power of Placing the Six and Eight Our basic strategy for Right betting, or betting with the shooter, entails sneaking in some bets once in a while. We will not bet Pass Line or make Come bets. The only bets we will make are Place bets, and then only on certain point numbers, and under certain prescribed circumstances. Place bets have several advantages for us that make them the only candidates suitable for our Take Down Craps System. First, Place bets can be made and pulled down at any time. Pass Line and Come bets, once made, must be kept up. You will recall that with Pass Line and Come bets, the bettor has an advantage with the Come-Out roll, and after a Come-Out suffers a major disadvantage as compared to the all important 7. The best Come or Pass Line bets are on the numbers 6 or 8, and even with these numbers, the house holds a 16.67% edge over the wagers. With Place bets, the house disadvantage is not as great once the bet is established. In fact, if we restrict our Place bets to only the 6 and 8, we find that the house edge over these Place bets is 1.52%. The house edge on 6 or 8 Placed is comparable to the house edge of 1.40% over Don't Pass and Don't Come bets. 153

154 There are some other reasons we will risk money on Placing 6 and 8 and not Pass Line or Come bets. With Pass Line and Come bets, the shooter must roll a number twice before we get paid. Take a Pass Line bet, for instance. If the shooter rolls a 6 on the Come-Out, then he must roll another 6 before our Pass Line wager wins. The shooter must roll two 6s, or any other point number for Pass Line or Come bets to win. With a Place bet, the shooter need roll the number only once for a win. Another reason we like Place bets is that they are automatically off on Come- Out rolls. Many Right bettors will laboriously make Come bets and even a shooter who has made a point will wipe out all of the Come bets on a new Come-Out roll. There is no way to protect these wagers, as the casino will not allow these bets to be called off on Come-Outs. With Place bets, there is no such problem. Place bets are always off on Come-Outs, so that we don't have to worry about Come-Out 7s wiping out our wagers. A final reason we like Place bets, and especially the 6 and 8, is that we are paid more than even money when we win. A Place bet on 6 or 8 pays 7 to 6, while a Pass Line or Come bet on the same numbers only pays 1 to 1. I know that you can take Odds with Pass and Come bets. I know that Odds wagers theoretically reduce the house advantage. But underline that word reduce. Let's compare the payoffs of a Place bet and a Pass Line or Come bet with Single Odds on a point of 6 or 8. Place Bet on 6 or 8 Payoff: Bet Payoff Payoff/Bet $6 $ % For every dollar wagered on a 6 or 8, the house will return $ for a win. 154

155 Now let's look at a Pass Line or Come bet with Single Odds on the same numbers: Pass Line or Come Bet with Single Odds on 6 or 8: Pass or Come Bet Single Odds Bet Total Wagered Total Payoff Payoff/ Total Bet $5 $5 $10 $ % You might argue that I'm being unfair to Pass Line and Come bets because you always take Double Odds with your wagers. Okay, let's look at how Pass Line and Come bets with Double Odds pay. And to make it interesting, we'll throw in these wagers with ten times odds (some Craps tables now offer ten times odds). As shown below, with Double Odds, a Pass Line or Come bet returns 1.13% of the amount wagered. With ten times odds, we get $1.18 back for each dollar wagered. So you have me here. If you are willing to wager ten times odds, you will receive a slightly better payoff betting Pass Line or Come when the point is 6 or 8. Pass Line or Come Bet with Double Odds and Ten Times Odds on 6 or 8: Double Odds 10x Odds Pass or Com e Bet Odds Bet Total Wagered Total Payoff Payoff/ Total Bet $5 $10 $15 $ % $5 $50 $55 $ % 155

156 Before you get too smug, thinking your Pass Line or Come Bets with ten times odds will outperform my Place bets, let me pose a couple of questions? How will you make sure that your Pass Line and Come bets only have 6 or 8 for points? And, how will you pull your bets off on Come-Out rolls? All things considered, Place bets are the way to go if you want to only occasionally make wagers on point numbers, if you want to make sure that your wagers are only on the point numbers of 6 or 8, and if you want to be paid off at a higher rate. And, of course, only with Place bets can you put your bets up and take them down at will. When to Place the 6 and 8 Now we come to the all important question of when we make our Place bets. I am not about to change my philosophy about Right bettors. Most Right bettors lose fairly steadily throughout the course of a game of Craps and then make what money they make during a hot dice roll. If we could jump in when the dice were hot and by that I mean the shooter is rolling number after number without rolling 7s then we might have a fighting chance of making some money betting Right. Many so called Craps experts advise players "to pick their spots" at the Craps tables. Earlier I touched on the "Qualified Shooter" theory, where a Right bettor waits until a point is made and then bets with the shooter on the rolls following the point being made. Other experts advise us to watch the enthusiasm level of the tables. If the players are enthusiastic, then bet Right. I haven't found either one of these theories to be very good at helping me decide when to "jump in" a Craps game. The qualified shooter theory works very 156

157 sporadically and is not a good guide of when to bet Right. The enthusiasm of the table theory is laughable. I have seen tables where the shooter makes number after number and no one says a peep. Other tables will explode if the shooter rolls one Come-Out 7. You can't rely on the emotions of Craps players to judge a table. So what do you use? After investing a lot of time and money, I have found one dependable time to bet Right, and only by Placing the 6 and 8. I will wait until a shooter has rolled either a six or eight. Then place both the six and eight at the same time. I am going to give you lots of refinements to this method but your starting point for placing the six and eight will always be: WAIT UNTIL A SIX OR EIGHT IS ROLLED BEFORE PLACING THE SIX AND EIGHT! Sounds like you will making Place bets all of the time, huh? Just wait until a six or eight is rolled. Yep. You won't be betting that often. Many shooters do not roll either a six or eight before a 7 shows. The majority of shooters roll only three or fewer rolls after a Come-Out roll before a 7 shows. On these rolls you will not bet at all! But when a shooter rolls a six or eight, the odds increase slightly that he or she will roll six or eight again before sevening out. How do I know this? Well, there is no mathematical theory to support it. Dice have no memory as they say, and every dice roll is an independent trial. So runs make no difference, right? 157

158 Hogwash. I have developed this theory the hard way, at the dice tables. And I will throw in a little theory for those of you who like to know why you do something. Remember I stated that most shooters won't roll more than three rolls before a 7 shows. Well, a 7 will come up on the average once every six rolls in the long run. How do we get from one 7 every three rolls to a 7 every six rolls? We get some long runs of numbers rolled, with no 7s, interspersed with lots of little rolls where the 7 shows frequently. Mathematicians will not dispute that this is the way that random events are distributed. An average is only that. To understand the average you need to look at how the events are dispersed. And after thousands of hours playing this damned game, I will tell you that sevens appear very frequently most of the time, and occasionally there are rolls of many numbers between the appearance of the ominous number seven. And, based on trying just about every system known to identify these long runs, I will tell you that the most reliable way to time placing the six and eight is to wait for the shooter to roll either a six or eight before you place the bets. 158